The New Mutants
by Joey1
Summary: New chapter! Get ready for a rowdy adventure as intergalactic rocker Lila Cheney shows up!
1. The Open Hand, The Closed Fist

The New Mutants  
  
By: Joey  
  
Disclaimer: Sorry, I don't own these characters, Marvel Comics and I believe KidsWB! (or at least they do for the Evo version) does.  
  
Chapter 1  
  
"The Open Hand-The Closed Fist"  
  
  
  
It had started with an incident. A bank in Bayville was being robbed, and the new recruits had intervened, using their powers to stop the criminals and escape before scaring anyone too badly. They had hoped that things would blow over, they didn't expect it to headline the local news.  
  
Xavier's School for gifted Youngsters, Bayville, New York.  
  
"And so, with the help of several unknown youths with seemingly incredible powers, the robbery attempt was thwarted. I'm Trish Tilby, Channel 11 news."  
  
Charles Xavier had hoped that such an event would not happen, but it did. He did not want his students to act so brazenly, even in such a heroic act. Not yet anyway. He was afraid of the backlash, afraid of what may happen to the students he had grown to consider his children. He sat in his chair, pondering what may come. He heard a knock on the door, he knew who it was. "Come in Samuel. We have a lot to discuss."  
  
********  
  
Bobby Drake had led his life with one reckless act after another, never caring about the consequences, he was surprised to find that this time he was regretting something. "Man...did we do the right thing today? Should we have stepped in and stopped those guys? I mean, the cops could have done things, right?"  
  
Ray Crisp, the boy who Bobby had grown to consider his best friend, shrugged his shoulders and said "I don't know, I mean, we took out those guys before they could do some serious damage, right?"  
  
"But what about those people? The looks on their faces...they looked horrified!" Bobby's girlfriend, Jubilation, or as she was more commonly called, Jubilee, said.  
  
The others looked downcast at the mention of how scared the bystanders looked.  
  
"I say it we did a good thing! Who knows what the heck those guys would have done, I mean, Madre di Dios, they had guns!", that was said by Roberto DaCosta, the hot tempered boy had dislocated one of criminal's jaw with his solar enchanced strength.  
  
"Yeah but where do we get off doing this? What if we go too far? What if we become the bad guys ourselves?" Bobby said, for once trying to be the voice of mature reason.  
  
"Well, maybe walking that thin line is what we've been doing this whole time, we just never realized it." Dacosta shot back.  
  
The others remained quiet.  
  
******  
  
"It is simply about the LAW Samuel! What if someone had had gotten hurt?! You're actions could have cost someone a life!" Xavier said, his voice rising. "It's about MORALS and ETHICS, about the right ways and the wrong ones! What you did could have had dangerous consequences!"  
  
"It's about you're DREAM ain't it Professor?" Sam shot back, " It's about whether we're gonna use the OPEN HAND," he raised his hand up, opening the palm, " Or the CLOSED FIST!" he punctuated his words by driving his fist into the air.  
  
"Maybe that is what it is all about, then." Xavier said, trying to calm himself.  
  
"Well, what d'you want from us, sir?" Sam said, turning his back on the man, " YOU took us in, you set us on this road...but did you ever prepare yourself for the time when we'd learn ta drive the car by ourselves?" he turned back around. "Are you ready ta let us do that?"  
  
Xavier was silent. He suddenly felt old, older than he should have. He sent a mental note to the other new recruits to meet him at the office, while Sam stepped out.  
  
******  
  
Once everyone had assembled, Xavier spoke.  
  
"I realize that you all did a great thing today...however it was also a very dangerous thing. I still believe that humanity is not ready for us, and we can do, I feel the world is not ready for mutants to be so...proactive. But....I realize that you all are not the children I thought you to be. Therefore, I will let Sam speak his piece, since he was he one who lead today's actions. "  
  
Sam cleared his throat. "Ah'm sorry sir, But Ah don't think it's any more simple than your dream, or what you've told us about Magneto's...or even the 'Get them before they get you' idea that some of the radical people take about mutants. Nothin' is as simple as y'all wanna make it! Ah've come to learn that much, now the next step is seein' what do with what you taught us." he said, trying to get his point across to a man who'd probably heard it all before.  
  
"It can all be boiled down to a simple question Sam: Will you walk the path of violence or salvation? Disruption or Unity?" Xavier said, with an ice- like calm. "The Open Hand or the Closed Fist?"  
  
"Funny you should bring that up sir," Sam said, before suddenly thrusting his hand out in a punch, stopping only inches from Xavier's face, who retained his calmness. He didn't even flinch.  
  
"Here's mah closed Professor! It can used be the way Magneto said, ta hit, ta pound. Ways you don't agree with, right?" He then opened up his fist to reveal a small mouse, shaking, but unhurt.  
  
"But it can also be used ta warm, ta support and protect....and as for the peaceful approach of the Open hand?" Sam lashed out again with his other hand, the palm out, stopping only inches from his teacher's face.  
  
Xavier grabbed the hand and pushed it away. "You've made you're point Sam. You may not be the children I thought you to be. I should not be your judge."  
  
Sam nodded. "Ah'm sorry sir...but Ah think it's time for us to leave." he said, seriously, not backing down, even after the gasps of the others.  
  
Even though it was tearing his heart out to do so, Xavier nodded. "You should be all free to choose your own destiny. Those of you who wish to go, step up and stand beside Sam. You will not be judged."  
  
Though they were only a few brief seconds, they felt like hours for Sam Guthrie. Then he saw them. Roberto, Amara, and Rahne stepped forward. He silently gave a prayer of thanks.  
  
"So be it." Xavier said. "Good journey, my children."  
  
*******  
  
A few hours later, the foursome were out on a highway, their bags piled up, Amara's thumb jerked out. Sam was pouring over a Map, while Roberto was zoning out to his Shakira CD, and Rahne was reading a book. Eventually a van pulled up.  
  
They were prepared for crazies, anti-mutant thugs, aliens, heck even the Brotherhood. They weren't prepared for five hippies and a Great Dane.  
  
"Uh...Thanks for stopping, y'all." Sam got out, not quite sure WHAT to say. "Would you be able ta give us a lift?"  
  
The eldest looking of them, a man with slicked back blonde hair and scarf smiled said, "Yeah sure! Hop in! We'd be glad to give you a lift!"  
  
Meanwhile, the others were deliberating. Amara thought they must be crazy, and could not be trusted, while Roberto thought they looked harmless, thankfully, Rahne managed to intervene.  
  
"Ach, where are yuir manners? These kind folk dinnae have to stop for us but they did, and we should accept their hospitality, so let's just get in the bloody van!" she said, though in closed whisper she threw in "Besides, if they turn out to be whack-jobs, we aren't exactly helpless."  
  
Roberto and Amara shrugged and followed the other two into the van, praying they hadn't made a mistake.  
  
  
  
End of first chapter.  
  
A/N: Well first chapter is done! Not really much of a timeframe for this fic, I'm thinking maybe a year from the current season. Oh, and by the way, if there are any fan artists who want to draw some scenes from this, go right ahead. And as long as you email me first, you site archivists can put it up on you're site. A major inspiration for this was X-Force #19 (A recommended read) and X-Force #71 (for the end part with the hippies). C&C is greatly appreciated!  
  
Next chapter: The gang is in Boston! But what's this high profile academy all about? And why the heck is the chess club so dang important? And, the team gets a new Member! (maybe even two)! 


	2. Saturday Night Fight!

The New Mutants  
  
By: Joey  
  
Disclaimer: Sorry, I don't own these characters, Marvel Comics and I believe KidsWB! (or at least they do for the Evo version) does  
  
Chapter 2  
  
"Saturday Night Fight!"  
  
Previously: The Xavier Institute's new recruits got involved in a bank robbery, preventing the crime, as well as casualties, scaring a lot of people in the process. An argument about activism erupted afterward between Sam Guthrie, who had grown into a leader of sorts, and Charles Xavier, and in the end, Cannonball, Wolvesbane, Magma, and Sunspot left the institute to do their own thing, aid and protect those who hate and fear them in their own way. They just didn't expect to get picked up by a group of hippies and their Great Dane....  
  
********  
  
Enroute to Boston Mass, Route 21.  
  
"So, like, shouldn't you kids be in school?" One of the hippies, who looked like could use a shave, asked.  
  
"Well...you might say we finished up the program we were in amigo." Roberto said, smiling to cover up his nervousness.  
  
Sam added, "Yeah, we're off on our own now, y'know, tryin' to do our own thing,"  
  
The women with red hair tied back and wearing a purple shirt smiled and said, "That's great. Y'know, we can totally relate. We all met up at the Giant Robots concert back in the day. We've been following them on tour ever since."  
  
"Yep, during the musical break of 'Monster Truck Love God'. Man that so cosmical." said the women with glasses.  
  
The radio they were listening to broke into the national news:  
  
"Anti-mutant hysteria has been growing as of late, despite the best efforts of politicians in Washington, a write in campaign has started for anti- mutant legislation, and-"  
  
The driver, the blonde haired man with the red scarf, turned the radio to another station  
  
"Man, that is SO bogus, I mean, they way we all see it, EVERYBODY is freaky in their way, y'know? Like we're all mutants." said the red-head.  
  
The group had to try and stifle their laughs. Sam covered his mouth, while Rahne poked Roberto in the ribs.  
  
"Right on sister. Right on." Amara said, giving a smile.  
  
********  
  
The group finally arrived in Boston, and the hippies had been kind enough to front them in a motel for about a week. Unfortunately, the room only had two beds, and the group had to draw straws. Amara and Rahne ended up winning, and so the boys had to bunk on the floor.  
  
"So what's the plan Sam?" Roberto said, once everyone was settled in. "I mean, we trusted you in you're plan to do our own thing."  
  
"Well, Ah was thinking of maybe enrolling in a local school." Sam replied, "We still need some sort of education after all."  
  
"Don't forget jobs." Amara said, " And we can't just stay here forever. I don't know about you, but this princess does not stay in a motel for the rest of her days."  
  
Sam nodded his head. "Right, Ah still gotta work that part out."  
  
Rahne finally spoke up, she had been reading a pamphlet the whole time. "How about here?" she said, flashing the pamphlet. "The Massachusetts Academy. A prestigious school, with a rich history, and dormitories for students who wish to stay on campus."  
  
The others gave a smile. They'd found their ticket.  
  
"Let's check it out in the morning." Sam said, before laying his head down.  
  
******  
  
"Welcome to the Massachusetts Academy, all of you." said the headmistress. Oddly enough, she seemed to be almost expecting the four of them when they had first shown up, and seemed even more excited when she found they had been staying at the Xavier Institute "My name is Ms. Emma Frost. Please, all of you, follow me for the tour of the campus.  
  
As they walked through the door and out onto the campus, Sam had noticed an odd thing about the other students, they seemed to have an almost fearful amount of respect for the headmaster. It bothered him.  
  
When they entered the quad, Frost explained that they had many prestigious organizations, and that their championship Chess club was always looking for new members. She then excused them, saying she wanted them to meet the student body and get to know the campus a little bit better. Amara went with Roberto into the library, while Sam went off to the athletic field, while Rahne noticed a blonde haired boy sitting by himself, curious, she walked over to talk to him.  
  
*******  
  
Amara was curled up into a tidy corner of the library, happily reading a book of myths, when Roberto walked up and sat down next to her.  
  
"Amara, I don't want to scare you, but you see those people over there?" He asked, pointing to a blonde girl and a boy with short brown hair.  
  
"Yes, what about them?" she replied.  
  
"They've been watching us ever since we got here. Pretty dang suspicious, chica."  
  
Amara nodded her head, noticed that the duo had given them another quick look.  
  
******  
  
Sam was pretty impressed with baseball diamond that the school had, it looked almost as good as a pro stadium, fresh, clean cut green grass, a finely maintained diamond, even the dirt looked perfect. He turned back to go meet the others when he ran straight into a brickwall. Or what he thought was one.  
  
"Whoa. Sorry about that man," a voice said, "I didn't even see you there."  
  
Sam looked up to see a mountain of a boy, he looked to be about Sam's age, and was Native American. "Don't worry about it. Ah should have been more careful. Mah name's Sam Guthrie. Ah'm a prospective student here." he said, holding his out hand.  
  
The boy took the offered hand and gave it a solid shake. "The name's James Proudstar. Everyone calls me Jimmy though."  
  
'Nice ta meet you Jimmy." Sam said, happy to meet a genuinely nice guy on the campus.  
  
"C'mon, I'll walk you back to the quad, man." Jimmy said, putting his arm over Sam's shoulder.  
  
******  
  
"Hello there." Rahne said, a little tentatively to the blonde haired boy.  
  
He continued to sit there, typing on his laptop.  
  
"Hello?! Are ye daft?" She said, a little angry and being ignored.  
  
The boy jumped up, startled. "Oh! Excuse me! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to ignore you! I just sort of get zoned out with computers." The boy replied. "I don't think I've seen you around campus before though...What's your name?" he asked.  
  
"My name is Rahne Sinclair. I might be attendin' this school soon." She said, giving him a pretty smile.  
  
The boy blushed a bit. "My name's Doug Ramsey. It's nice to meet you." he said.  
  
Suddenly another voice was heard, almost electronic. "Selffriend Doug's body heat is rising, that would indicate embarrassment, or shyness."  
  
Doug glared at his laptop. "Warlock! Don't speak like that! Not in front of a guest!"  
  
Rahne looked confused. "Warlock? What's that? Is that the name of yuir computer?" she asked.  
  
"No, not quite. He's a sentient computer program I designed and created. Up until now, he's been my best friend." Doug sad, giving a shy smile.  
  
Now it was Rahne's turn to blush. Though in the corner of her eye, she noticed an odd looking lavender cat sitting on the shoulder of a nearby girl who, even though it looked like she was busy with a deck of cards, was spying on the two of them.  
  
******  
  
Soon, the group got back together, and followed Ms. Frost to the gymnasium. There, she gave her final offer. "Well, what is the vote? Would you all like to attend the academy?" She asked.  
  
The others talked amongst themselves. They decided to stay, the only negative vote being from Roberto.  
  
"All right m'am. We've decided to enroll." Sam said. He was glad that they found an easy solution so fast.  
  
"Excellent. I'm sure you'll enjoy you're stay." Ms. Frost said. She quickly thought to herself *and to make sure you stay here....* she then reached into her minds, as she was a telapath, one who had far less scruples than Charles Xavier.  
  
Roberto felt that....SOMETHING...he wasn't sure what, had enter his mind, he gave out a groan. Rahne immediately sensed something was wrong. "What are ye doin' to him woman?!"  
  
"I'm controlling his mind!" Frost spat out, " I was hoping some of my old instructors whelps would show up! I'm NOT going to lose this chance!"  
  
"Oh no you don't!" Amara yelled, firing up immediately and sending out a burst of flame at the woman, sending her flying back.  
  
"Damn it! Hellions! now!" Frost cried out, trying to put out the flames on her clothing.  
  
"Hellions?" Sam said, worried at what such a name had in store for them.  
  
Out of the shadows stepped the two people at the library, as well at the girl and cat, which leapt off of her shoulder and transformed into a lavender haired girl with the eyes of cat. They were all wearing black uniforms with a red triangle on the right breast.  
  
"Meet the Chess Club." Emma Frost said, with gritted teeth, " Jennifer Stavros, our Black Rook, also known as Roulette. Sharon Smith, our White Knight, known as Catseye. Marie-Angie Colbert, the White Rook, Tarot. and Manuel Alfonso Rodrigo de la Rocha, the Black Knight, the Empath. Get them, my Hellions."  
  
******  
  
James Proudstar had been going for a walk, he had felt restless all of the sudden, and had needed to get some fresh air. He then noticed some rather strange noises, almost like explosions of some sort, emanating from the gym. He walked over to investigate, and noticed that blonde kid who was always with his laptop already there. "Hey! What's your name...Ramsey! What's going on?" he asked.  
  
Doug turned around, startled. "There's a fight going on! It's the chess club and the new kids! I've never seen anything like it!" he pointed towards the window. James took a look and didn't like what he saw. His new friend Sam and the other kid we're doing very well at all.  
  
"Damn! We got to do something!" He said. "Doug! You can hack into the school's power grid, right?" when the blonde boy gave an affirmative nod, he gave a dark smile. " I got a plan. Ramsey, here's what I want you to do..."  
  
******  
  
Sam knew the group was in trouble, that Empath kid had actually manipulated Amara, it was like he was giving her some sort of nightmare vision, the lavender haired girl was in a stalemate with Rahne, having turned into some sort of were-panther. Roberto was having a hard time with the Roulette girl, and those discs she had tossed were bad luck. Literally. One of them had hit him, and he'd knocked Amara back, just as she was breaking control of Empath's manipulations. And that Tarot girl...she was making her cards come to life, Sam was actually having to fight Death itself when she drew out the Death card! Suddenly, the power went out, and several muffled cries were heard.  
  
"Hey! Follow me!" a voice had boomed out, and Sam felt himself get dragged out of the gym. When he and others had been taken out into the light, he saw that their rescuer was James Proudstar!  
  
"W-What's going on Jimmy?" he had asked, completely startled.  
  
"No time! Just get in the van!" his new friend yelled, helping Amara in, then jumping into the driver's seat.  
  
The van took off almost immediately, and they were free. For now.  
  
******  
  
Emma Frost was not happy. Someone had hacked into the power grid, allowing someone to bushwhack her Hellions, as well as herself. Someone was going to pay. She looked over at Tarot and asked "What do the card's see Marie?" she had come to rely on the girl in events such as these.  
  
"We will meet them again, madam. The cards do not lie." the enigmatic girl replied.  
  
And Frost smiled. Noone crossed her and lived to tell about it. No one.  
  
******  
  
"Why did you help us?" Roberto asked, once the van was clear of the institute.  
  
Doug looked up from his computer. "We had too. You were in trouble."  
  
Not keeping his eyes off the road, James said, "Yeah, my big brother John always told me to help out your friends when they're in trouble."  
  
Sam looked grim, "But we're all mutants, y'all must know that." He and the others prepared themselves for the inevitable gasps of shock. They never came.  
  
James pulled over. "No big deal to me compadre. This Apache never had a trouble with a mutant. I'm one myself. I got boosted strength, speed, reflexes, senses, and injury resistance. The whole nine yards, as the saying goes. A perfect tracker. You guys need my help? I'm here for you. No one messed with my friends." he said, giving a smile.  
  
"I'm a mutant myself." Doug said, "Though my powers aren't as extravagant as the rest of yours."  
  
"Really Dougie?" Rahne said, very interested. "What are yuir powers?"  
  
"I can understand and speak any language. Even body language. I think with enough practice I may even be able to communicate with animals." he said, a little shyly.  
  
"Well then, it's decided. Welcome to the team, y'all!" Sam said with a big smile. "My codename is Cannonball, because o my blastin' ability. Rahne's is Wolvesbane, due to her bein' able to turn into a either were-wolf or a full on wolf. Roberto's is Sunspot because he absorbs solar energy and uses it to increase his strength, an' Amara is Magma, because she can control it, an' shoot fire from her hands."  
  
"Well, just call me Warpath then." James said, giving a thumbs up.  
  
"Well, all I do is decipher languages, I don't know what to call myself."  
  
Warlock, Doug's computer chimed in, saying "Why not call yourself Cypher, selffriend Doug?"  
  
Doug smiled, "Y'know, I kinda like the sound of that. Cypher it is then!"  
  
The others smiled, their team was growing into a fine unit.  
  
End of second chapter.  
  
Author's note: Well, that does it for the second chapter! Hope you all liked the debut of the Hellions! And yes, they along with Cypher and Warpath are from comics continuity. If you're curious about them, check out Uncannyxmen.net. And for you romantics, yes, there will be some relationships, but who's it gonna? THAT is a secret!...for now. Just so you know, Sam, James, and Tarot are 18. Amara, Roberto, and Roulette and Empath are 17, while Rahne, Doug, and Catseye are 16. C&C is greatly appreciated!  
  
Next Chapter: The gang is out on the road once again! The start to investigate some creepy murders in a Cheyenne tribe. Be there for the debut of our last regular cast member for a while, Dani Moonstar, and part 1 of the Demon Bear two-parter! 


	3. The Demon Bear, Part 1

The New Mutants  
  
By: Joey  
  
Disclaimer: Sorry, I don't own these characters, Marvel Comics and I believe KidsWB! (or at least they do for the Evo version) does  
  
Chapter 3  
  
"Demon Bear-Part 1"  
  
Previously: The team hitchhikes to Boston, and tours the Massachusetts Academy. However things go awry when the headmistress, Emma Frost, attempts to make sure that they stay by controlling the team's minds. Soon a fight erupts between the New Mutants and Frost's own team of super-powered youths, known as the Hellions: Roulette, capable of tossing "luck discs" red good and black bad, Catseye, a girl able to morph into a were-cat, Tarot, capable of creating monster from tarot cards to fight on her behalf, and Empath, capable of sensing and manipulating people's emotions. Thankfully the team was rescued by the joint effort of James Proudstar and Doug Ramsey, who later joined the team as Warpath and Cypher, respectively.  
  
******  
  
Prologue:  
  
Michael Whitecloud walked along the street, alone. It was late, and he had spent perhaps too much time at the pub drinking and partying. He thought he had heard some steps behind him so he turned to check. No one was there. He shrugged and kept walking. A few blocks later he thought he heard a growl of some sort. He checked again, but nothing was there, aside from some fog that had started to roll in. He turned back and kept walking, until he heard more steps, and a louder growl. He quickly stepped into an alley, hoping that the thick fog would mask his actions.  
  
"Who's there? Come on! Show yourself!" he yelled out, pulling out a knife he kept hidden in his boot for protection. He heard the growling again. It sounded almost like a bear, and it seemed to come....right behind him.  
  
He turned around, brandishing his knife, but all he could see was pure darkness, a sudden movement caught his eye, and everything went red.  
  
******  
  
She screamed, a cold a sweat upon her brow. It was the third nightmare in five days. Could the legend really be true? Why was she seeing these visions? The girl curled herself up, crying, as her grandfather came into the room, trying to comfort her.  
  
******  
  
Sundance, Colorado.  
  
It had been an interesting few months for the team. They'd traveled cross country in what was, for all intents and purposes, a stolen van, thankfully they'd managed to avoid any unfriendly encounters with the law. During brief stays in towns they'd taken odd-jobs for support, though thankfully Roberto had managed to get some money from his father to help them for now. They'd aimed to try make some sort of permanent home in California, and only made a brief stopover in Denver, put ended up get entangled in a plot involving the mob, and two musicians named Dazzler and Longshot, mutants in their own right. After getting some cash for their bank account from the two grateful musicians, the team had only meant try and take a small stop in Sundance and get on the road, after all, Frost and her Hellions were still out there.  
  
******  
  
The kitchen of the small bed-and-breakfast, Medicine Bow.  
  
Sam walked into the kitchen, still sleepy. The others were crowded around the table eating their breakfast, consisting of pancakes and bacon. He sat down and waited for his own plate.  
  
"Late sleeper, huh Sammy?" James said, his head buried in the days newspaper.  
  
"Yeah, ever since we've been on the road Ah've been sleeping in later an' later." he replied, before starting to dig into his plate of food.  
  
Doug was reading the other end of James's newspaper and an article caught his eye. "Wow, look at that! A murder occurred last night!" he exclaimed, surprised that something like that could happen in such a peaceful area.  
  
James turned the paper over. "Really?" he said, and started to read the report as the rest of the group crowded around to get a look at the paper.  
  
"Michael Whitecloud, twenty-five, was found dead in the alley near fourth and ten at five-thirty am this morning, so far, the police have no clues as to who the murderer could be, though they do know that it the third in a series of murders that have plagued the area for the past week. All the victims were cut and torn badly in what almost seemed like an animal-like ferocity."  
  
Everyone looked at each other worriedly, events like this were one of the reasons they had splintered off from Xavier, they knew what they needed to do, but were interrupted by one of the owners.  
  
"So, everyone doing ok here?" she said, smiling.  
  
"Yes madam, thank you very much for the breakfast." Amara said, graciously.  
  
"But what do know about these murders?" Roberto threw in eagerly, interrupting whatever Amara was going to say (so she kicked him in the shin under the table and shot him a glare).  
  
"You all really want to know, huh? Well they started about a week ago, and they've been pretty grisly, in fact, they're in the same style of some murders that happened fifteen years ago. Now, I'm not trying to scare you young kids or anything, but they say that it was the legendary Demon Bear that committed those murders, and a lot of people think that it's come back, for whatever reason." the woman said as she collected the used breakfast dishes.  
  
James nodded his head, "Thanks for the information Mrs. Corsi, we just might do some detective work on our own."  
  
"Well, all right," She replied, " but please, be careful."  
  
******  
  
The group decided to split into three groups: Roberto and Amara would check around bars and popular hangouts for information about the victims, while Rahne and Doug would check out the local library for any old newspaper articles on the previous murders, and Sam and James would check in with some of the local Cheyenne shamans to try and get some information on the Demon Bear itself. They also brought some walkie-talkies with them in case anything major came up.  
  
******  
  
Rahne had found a few old local newspapers at the library and sat next to Doug, who was working on his laptop with Warlock, searching for relevant articles.  
  
"Selfriend Doug, I have come up with a list of the five victims from the previous set of murders." Warlock spoke out, and then displayed a list of names.  
  
"Ok, we have Jonathan SkyeRunner, Thomas Cloudkicker, Jennifer Sunstar, and William and Peg Lonestar, though the bodies of the last two were never found." Doug said, listing off the names.  
  
Rahne spoke up, "I found a reference to the two of them gettin' married Dougie, an' from what I read it was a pretty big event, not many people disapproved of the match. They had a daughter named Danielle an' apparently she still lives here."  
  
"Hmmm, interesting. We should tell the others once we get done here, their daughter might have some insight into things." he replied, typing a few things into his laptop.  
  
"But why?" Rahne said, wondering how the girl could be of much use or interest.  
  
"It says here that all the victims, and that includes the three current ones, had shamanistic bloodlines." Doug said, looking up.  
  
******  
  
Roberto and Amara hadn't had much luck, most of the bars wouldn't even let them in. Finally one of bartenders had relented when they had been forced to display their powers.  
  
"Michael Whitecloud?" the bartender said, once they had been seated and gotten down to business. "Yeah I knew him. His father was a shaman in training, but things didn't work out between him and the current one, Black Eagle. He'd been trying to be an apprentice himself, but things just never quite worked out, Michael was too much of a party animal, I guess. It was a shame, he was a nice guy too."  
  
"Well, what about the other two people who were killed?" Amara asked, trying to keep track of all the information.  
  
"Sarah Sixkiller and Lily Whitewolf? They were nice girls, They're relatives had been shamans in the past too. Really weird how all these people who had magick in their blood were killed. Makes me glad no one in my family was ever a shaman or an apprentice." the man said, setting down two cans of soda for the both of them.  
  
Roberto nodded in thanks, and said, "What about this rumor that the Demon Bear got 'em, what do you think about that, man?"  
  
The bartender shook his head, "No way, that's too unbelievable, and trust me, I've heard them all."  
  
******  
  
Sam and James approached the residence of the village shaman, Black Eagle, it had taken they awhile, but they had finally found the place, after a lot of referrals and wrong turns from bad directions.  
  
"Hey Sam, for right now, you might want to let me do some of the talking. I know some tribes still have some hostility about you and you're kind." James said, trying to explain things in the easiest manner.  
  
Sam nodded his head, "Ah understand James. Just lead the way buddy." he said.  
  
They knocked on the door, and heard a beckoning call to come in. As they walked in, Sam took in the room. It was rustic, built with wood and old designs, and was full of objects that must have had some sort of mystical relevance. He then gave the elderly man a look. He looked to be about Professor Xavier's age, and his skin was almost a tan color, from being out in the sun for so long. His hair had streak of gray and white, but rather than detract of him, they added an almost wisdom filled mystique to him.  
  
"Excuse me, honored shaman Black Eagle, my name is James Proudstar, of the Apache. My friend and I have come for information regarding the Demon Bear." James said, with honor and reverence in his deep voice.  
  
Black Eagle nodded, slowly. " I know, my son. and you're friend may speak. All are welcome here."  
  
Sam gave a polite nod, saying, "Thank you sir."  
  
"As for the Demon Bear, I know of it....all too well." the elder man said, a look of sadness in his eyes. "I have even encountered it. It is a mystic beast, and as such it can only be defeated through mystical means."  
  
"So you're certain that the demon is responsible for the murders?" James said sternly.  
  
"Yes, yes I am, " Black Eagle said, "in fact I-", he was interrupted when a teenage girl entered the room.  
  
"Oh! Excuse me for interrupting you, Grandfather, but I believe it is time for our daily rituals." She said.  
  
"Oh yes, thank you.", he said, and then he gestured his hand towards James and Sam, "These young men have come to me seeking some advice. The taller one is James Proudstar, of the Apache, but I don't think I got the name of his companion..."  
  
"Ah'm Sam Guthrie, sir, and it's nice ta meet you miss." Sam said, blushing a little.  
  
She smiled, "It's nice to meet the both of you," she said, "my name is Danielle Moonstar, but please, call me Dani."  
  
Black Eagle walked up to the three of them and said, "I'm sorry, my friends, I know you have traveled a long way, but Dani and myself must perform our rituals. Please, stop by tomorrow."  
  
James nodded his head, "Yes, elder. We will come by tomorrow at a more opportune time." he replied, "Come on Sam, let's head back to the Medicine Bow."  
  
******  
  
Later that night, the team got back together to share what information they had managed to get.  
  
"I programmed Warlock with a list of all the people in the community, as well as the information of the victims, with his help we should be able to get an accurate prediction of who the Demon Bear may try and attack next." Doug said, typing in a few buttons.  
  
"Well, has he finished yet?" Sam said, "Ah'm sure the information will come in handy."  
  
Warlock's voice came up from the computers speakers. "Yes, I have selffriend Sam, by self's best estimation, the next two targets will be village shaman Black Eagle, and village resident Dani Moonstar."  
  
At that revelation, the others looked at each other nervously, Sam especially looked rather pale.Finally, Rahne spoke.  
  
"We have to do something, she could be in danger even as we speak!"  
  
******  
  
Dani Moonstar was scared. She had stepped outside without telling her Grandfather. She somehow felt that those boys she had met would be able to help her with the nightmare visions she had been having, and had gone out to try and find the place they were staying. She had not counted on such a thick fog, she had tried to traverse through it, but it just seemed to get worse and worse as time went on. She started to panic when she thought she heard footsteps, and later when she began to hear strange noises. Finally, she could take no more and turned around.  
  
What she saw made her blood run cold, she opened her mouth to scream, but no noise came out. It was the demon from her dreams.  
  
The Demon Bear had found it's next prey.  
  
End of third chapter.  
  
Authors notes: Hope I did a good job, I tried to make this little bit more of a mystery/horror kind of deal. The Demon Bear story is actually based off of a four part story arc in the actual New Mutants comic, and it's recommended read if you can find (Issue # 18-21, if I remember correctly). As always, C&C is greatly appreciated!  
  
Next Chapter: The conclusion of the Demon Bear saga! There are still some surprises in store for our heroes, so be there! 


	4. The Demon Bear, Part 2

The New Mutants  
  
By: Joey  
  
Disclaimer: Sorry, I don't own these characters, Marvel Comics and I believe KidsWB! (or at least they do for the Evo version) does  
  
Chapter 4  
  
"Demon Bear-Part 2"  
  
Previously: The team arrives in Sundance Colorado for a bit of a break, but ends up investigating some rather grisly murders. Along the way, Sam and James meet Dani Moonstar, the granddaughter of the local Cheyenne tribes shaman, who's been having disturbing nightmare visions. Later in the night, Dani attempts to go visit the team for help when she's confronted by the Demon Bear itself.  
  
*****  
  
It was the demon from her nightmares, she couldn't believe it, a huge bear, it's fur seemingly blacker than the blackest pitch, it's teeth and claws looked like sharpened blades. Dani Moonstar was afraid for her life, as the bear made it's way closer to her. She tried to run, but her legs failed her and she stumbled back, falling to the ground. The bear raised a claw, and Dani closed her eyes, fearing the end.  
  
But it never came. She opened her eyes and saw that she was being carried by the large boy she had met earlier. James was his name, if she remembered correctly. "Thank you..." she said, still drained from the experience.  
  
"No problem, Dani, it's a good thing we headed out to find you when we did," he said, setting her down. "Now just stay back, we'll take care of things." He then ran back to the others, who were busy fighting the bear.  
  
******  
  
Back in the battle, the team was attempting to hold it's own, but something odd was happening, whenever they managed to attack the bear with a powerful blow, it would seemingly heal the injury.  
  
"Madre di Dios! This thing just won't go down, and I'm running low on solar power!" Roberto said, and after watching the bear get back up unscathed from a powerful blow he had given it.  
  
Amara shot several flames at the bear, consuming it entirely, however the flames quickly died down, leaving no sign of injury. "This isn't working!" She yelled out, before the bear swatted her right into Roberto with a ferocious backhand, knocking them both out.  
  
"Amara! Roberto!" Rahne cried out, she was in her werewolf form at the moment, since she figured she'd be too vulnerable as a full wolf. She leapt at the bear, tearing into it's throat with her claws, however no matter how much damage she inflicted upon it, it seemed to heal, the blood quickly drying up. It seemed to finally have enough of Rahne and tossed her away. She hit the ground hard, and groaned, completely spent, and reverted to her human form.  
  
"Damn! Looks like it's just us, Sam! Doug's gone of ahead to warn Black Eagle." James said, clenching his fists.  
  
"James, Ah I got an idea, Ah call it the fast ball special." Sam said, sizing the bear up as it lumbered towards them. "Ah want you ta toss me."  
  
James raised an eyebrow, "You want me to WHAT?" he said, confused.  
  
"I want ya ta throw me." Sam said, gritting his teeth," See, with you're increased power will send me flying real fast, and when I blast in midair, that'll give things an even bigger boost. If we're lucky, it'll take him out."  
  
"All right man, hope this works." James said, picking up Sam and giving him as hard a throw as he could.  
  
Sam flew through he air, and then activated his blast powers, going even faster than before. "All right demon, let's see how y'all like this!" he yelled out as he delivered a rocket assisted punch to the beasts skull, staggering it. He then made a sharp turn to retain his speed and flew at the bear again. This time he wasn't as lucky as the bear swatted him away, sending him flying into a nearby sign.  
  
"SAM!" James yelled and rushed at the bear, trying to inflict as much damage to it as he could. He hot it with everything he had, but the bear just kept taking, before backhanding him into another sign.  
  
Slowly, the bear lumbered back to the petrified Dani, who had been watching the battle from afar. She saw as it got closer and closer, and finally cried out, closing her eyes. She noticed that the bear had stopped, as she couldn't hear any footsteps. She opened her eyes, and saw the bear, frozen, seemingly in fear. What she saw surprised her. It looked like another version of her, but in the garb of a warrior, and brandishing a spear.  
  
The bear roared, and slowly faded away, the fog lifting, as Dani watched, mesmerized.  
  
******  
  
Dani had managed to gently wake the others, and the five of them made their way back to Dani's home, where Doug and Black Eagle waited for them. Once everyone had been checked on by the shaman, he cleared his throat, to get everyone's attention.  
  
"I am proud of you all, not many can say that they survived a battle with the Demon Bear." he said, giving them all a warm smile.  
  
"But honored elder, we didn't exactly achieve any sort of victory, more like a delay, I mean, if it hadn't been for Dani...." James said, flexing his arm, checking to see if anything was broken.  
  
Dani nodded her head and chimed in, "Yes grandfather, how did I cast such an incantation? I have never heard of such a spell." she said, extremely curious.  
  
"Because it is not a spell my granddaughter, you are mutant....in fact, I believe I can tell what you're powers may be," Black Eagle said, putting his hand her shoulder for support. "you can make someone's greatest fears come to life, I believe that with training, you may even be able to create desires as well."  
  
"This is...surprising.....but...why would the Demon Bear fear me?" Dani asked, still confused.  
  
Sam walked up next to Dani. "That's right sir, Ah mean, does it fear shamanistic blood?"  
  
Black Eagle was silent for a few moments. He had not wanted to tell Dani the truth...but he saw no other choice. "Yes....it does fear shamanistic blood, that is why it kills those who have it. But, Dani is special...for you see, only she can slay the beast...for you see...it is her parents."  
  
Silence surrounded everyone for several moments, before Dani finally spoke. "But...how? My parents were killed! By the demon itself! They were the first victims!" she said, tears in her eyes.  
  
Her grandfather sighed. "It is a long story my child....but you deserve to hear it."  
  
******  
  
Twenty-one years ago, William Lonestar met Peg Moonstar. They fell in love almost immediately, and were married very quickly. They were a match made in heaven, but not everyone was happy about their marriage. I should have realized it earlier, but a man by the name of Andrew Running Deer, who had been a prime suitor of Peg's, was consumed with jealousy, and cast a curse on the both of them. He invoked the ancient Demon Bear, and that shortly after the birth of their child, the two of them would become the new vessel for the demon. Three years later, Dani, you were born, and then the murders began to occur. After the first murder, William and Peg awoke in bed with blood all around them. They had no idea what was happening. It happened again a few days later, and after the third murder, and they disappeared, I knew my suspicions were correct. the next time the bear showed itself, it came for me. I had forged a spear of silver, enchanting it, making it the only thing capable of piercing the flesh of the demon.....however my resolve failed me, I could not bring myself to harm my daughter and her husband. Instead, I cast spell to drive them away. However I did not have the strength to make it a permanent spell. I was surprised it last this long. But now, I am old, but I am the only one capable of defeating the Demon Bear. I cannot ask Dani to fight her own parents.  
  
******  
  
Black Eagle finished his story and sat back. The others were silent. He then stood up. "Please, all of you, stay here for the night as our guests," he said, "I am going to retire to quarters. I am very tired, and I need to think about tomorrow night.".  
  
The others nodded their heads in agreement, and headed towards the spare bedrooms.  
  
******  
  
Sam turned towards the clock. It was one AM and he couldn't sleep. he stood up, and carefully walked out onto the catwalk. He surprised to see Dani there too.  
  
"Excuse me? Dani? Y'all ok?" he asked, a little tentatively.  
  
She turned around, a little shocked, but she nodded her head. "Yes...I'm ok, it's just...a lot of information to take in. Being a mutant...my parents being cursed...what may be my fate to ...kill them." She said.  
  
Sam nodded his head and gently put his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, things may be tough, but everything will work out," he said, "we'll make sure of it."  
  
Dani smiled and hugged him. "Thank you Sam, I needed that." she said, before heading back to her room. Sam smiled before heading back to bed himself.  
  
******  
  
The next day came and went, filled with the others preparing for the fight with the Demon Bear. Black Eagle found the spear, and sat it down next to some wards.  
  
Doug looked at the inscriptions on it. "Yes, it definitely looks like a formidable weapon. Those runes are mystical in original, specified for demon slaying, correct?" he asked.  
  
The shaman nodded his head, looking impressed. "Yes, how did you know that?"  
  
"It's my mutant ability, "Doug said, " I can read, speak, and understand any language."  
  
Black Eagle took a sip of the tea he had brought with him, and nodded. "Truly an interesting power you have, my son. It may not be as physical as James's, for example, but it is powerful in it's own right." he said, smiling. He suddenly felt tired, very tired. His eyes became heavy, and realized, just before going to sleep, why he was in such a condition. *Dani....* he thought, before sleep overtook him.  
  
Doug picked up the spear, walked back to the others, turning around for s second to whisper an apology to the old man.  
  
*******  
  
It was now nine PM, and the others had assembled, Dani clutching the spear, incredibly tense. Soon a fog began to appear, thundering steps could be heard, and with a feral roar, the Demon Bear showed itself. But this time they were prepared.  
  
Doug pulled a rope, sending several boxes down on top of the bear, slowing it down, Amara then ignited them, the bear walked through the inferno, roaring in pain, even though it's wounds healed. Then James and Roberto rushed it from behind, causing it to lose balance, allowing Rahen to pounce on top of it, clawing its face and throat before jumping off.  
  
The bear, by now extremely angry, rushed through the others, knocking them back and thrusting it's right paw out, claws extended, aimed right at Dani.  
  
But it only tore into dirt, as the Dani was but an illusion, created by the real one, who was flying right at, being carried by Sam.  
  
"Mother...father..." she said, "I RELEASE YOU!" as the both of them slammed into the bear, the spear driving into it's flesh, blood pouring out of the wound. The bear cried out in pain, and oddly, release as well, when it fell to the ground. It began to disintegrate, as the two souls it had been inhabiting were finally released, and the demon slain.  
  
The others stood behind Dani, as she knelt down, whispering a prayer to wish her parents peace in the afterlife.  
  
******  
  
The next day, the others were loaded up in the van, they had solved the murders, and brought some peace to the people of the community. They were currently parked out in front of Black Eagle's house. The shaman and Dani had come to see them off.  
  
"Thank you again, for all of your help," The elder said. "you are welcome here anytime."  
  
"Thank you sir, " Sam said. "we were glad to help."  
  
James nodded in agreement, "It was an honor, elder. I hope our paths cross again someday." he said.  
  
With that the two boys headed back to the van (which had gotten a new paint job and tune up, from the grateful townspeople), James got into the driver's seat, and started the car, as Sam climbed in from the back.  
  
Dani quickly turned to her grandfather. "I'm sorry, but I have to go with them. I know they can help me develop my power, and I owe them so much." she said.  
  
Black Eagle smiled. "I understand, granddaughter. Go on. I knew one day you would leave to explore things outside of here." he said, and she ran off to the van.  
  
"Call me Mirage, "she said, after explaining things, and taking a seat next to Sam.  
  
The van then drove off into the sunset, a new member part of the team, as Black Eagle watched them go.  
  
"Good journey, to all of you." he said.  
  
End of fourth chapter.  
  
Author's notes: Well that does it for the Demon Bear storyline. Hope you all enjoyed it. So, for now, the permanent team will be Sam "Cannonball" Guthrie, Roberto "Sunspot" Da Costa, Amara "Magma" Aquilla, Rahne "Wolfsbane" Sinclair, Doug "Cypher" Ramsey, James "Warpath" Proudstar, and Dani "Mirage" Moonstar. By the way, anyone catch some of the comic references I've put in so far? I know Towenden spotted Trish Tilby. Oh, and those hippies from the end of chapter 1 and the beginning of chapter 2? They won't be around again unless you all _really_ want them to show up again. As always, C&C is greatly appreciated!  
  
Next chapter: The team tries to finally take a break at the "Towering Inferno" festival, but things won't be quite as calming as they'd hoped it would be, as the Hellions return, and they're looking for a rematch! 


	5. Convergence

The New Mutants  
  
By: Joey  
  
Disclaimer: Sorry, I don't own these characters, Marvel Comics and I believe KidsWB! (or at least they do for the Evo version) does, and I'm only using the character for entertainment only, no harm meant.  
  
Chapter 5  
  
"Convergence"  
  
Previously: The team encounters the Demon Bear as it attempts to attack Dani Moonstar, only for it to be scared off at the first manifestation of the girl's powers. Later, we find out it's origin, that it is the combined essences of a demon and Dani's parents. Together, the team is able to assist Dani in it's slaying, setting her parents souls to rest. Later, she joins the team, using the codename of Mirage.  
  
******  
  
In a desolate section of the Arizona desert, the ground rumbles as a man-made storm roars across it's cracked Earth. The word has been passed through the channels. A gathering will take place in Burning River Canyon.  
  
A celebration that will not be classified, quantified, or commercialized. A rave that will attract only those intrepid enough to brave a hostile and unforgiving climate.  
  
A convocation that will bring together the fringes of twenty-first century culture in a raucous celebration. A festival that will unite a motley collection of freaks and geeks, deadheads and gearheads, techno-pagans and tattooed prodigies.  
  
And, oh yes, seven individuals whose unique D.N.A. has given them superhuman abilities, the members of a team of mutants following their own path, unofficially calling themselves The New Mutants: Sam Guthrie, the human Cannonball. Rahne Sinclair, a.k.a. Wolfsbane. Amara Aquilla, code-named Magma. Roberto Da Costa, the hot-tempered Sunspot. James Proudstar, or Warpath. Doug Ramsey, called Cypher. And the team's newest addition, Dani Moonstar, the Mirage.  
  
******  
  
James parked the van, and stepped outside, looking at the sign. "Welcome to the Towering Inferno shindig and hullabaloo," he read aloud. "I've never seen anything like this before."  
  
Rahne sniffed the air and looked worried. "Spendin' a weekend in the desert with a bunch of lunatics is not me idea of a good time." She said.  
  
Roberto hopped out of the back of the van and grinned, "Chill out, Rahne," He said, "don't you think we deserve to cut loose and have a little fun?"  
  
Dani just shook her head, following Sam out. "I'm just getting some really weird vibes here." She said, looking around.  
  
Sam gave a smile. "Weird vibes Dani? Ah can't imagine why," He said, " We're only surrounded by enough crazy people to fill a small town."  
  
Roberto let out a whoop and replied, "Yeah but that's the fun of it Sam! Everyone here is free to express themselves however they want! No restraints whatsoever! I mean I don't think we even need to hide the fact that we're mutants! You think anyone would even notice? Let alone care?"  
  
Doug, meanwhile, was busy staring at the huge tower that had been erected. "So that's it," he said, to no one in particular. "The Towering Inferno. Every year a team of artists, craftsmen, and general loonies build a huge tower out of wood, metal, and neon. Once it's finished it signals the start of the festival. Obviously since it's up, the festival has begun. And, at the end of the third night, the tower gets blown to smithereens in a huge pyrotechnic extravaganza that lights up the desert...or that's what the website said anyway."  
  
Rahne rolled her eyes. "Typical. Boys will make up any excuse to blow somethin' up." She said.  
  
"Well, anyway," Doug said, "I'm going back to the van to get the tents. Anyone want to help me?"  
  
Rahne nodded her head, "I'll help you Doug, all this psychotic revelry is giving me a headache."  
  
The two then walked back to the van to grab the supplies, while the rest of the team went off to explore the festival.  
  
Nearby, a group of youths in a similar age group also split up, following them.  
  
******  
  
At the campgrounds, Doug and Rahne had finally finished setting up the tent.  
  
"I hate this place Dougie, It's as if the whole world's gone stark ravin' insane." Rahne said, pacing a bit.  
  
"Uh-huh."  
  
"I know everybody thinks me a little uptight, and that's just because of me upbringing, but is it too much to ask for little restraint-" her eyes bulged as she saw something she probably shouldn't. "Oh me GOD! Do you see that!"  
  
"Uh-huh"  
  
"Dougie, those people weren't wearing a stitch o' clothin'!" Rahne said, pointed in the direction the people had went.  
  
"Uh-huh."  
  
"Oh, yuir not even listen' to me y'lug." she said, annoyed.  
  
"Did you say something Rahne?" Doug said, looking up from his laptop.  
  
"You're a million miles way." she said as she crossed her arms and turned around.  
  
Doug stood, an apologetic look in his eyes. "I'm sorry Rahne, I was sort of absorbed...and not just because of the computer either. Ever since the Demon Bear fight I've been feeling more and more useless. I mean, look at the power you all have, you all can do amazing things, but all I do is translate languages." He said, rather dejectedly.  
  
Rahne put her arms on his shoulders. "Dougie, you shouldn't worry about such things. It doesn't matter what powers you have, yuir still one of strongest and bravest boys I know." She said.  
  
He lowered his head, and said "Thanks Rahne...I guess I'm afraid that at some point my lack of physical powers could cost someone, because if I couldn't protect them."  
  
Rahne could only sigh, and she wrapped her arms around him in a hug.  
  
******  
  
Meanwhile, Sam, James, and Dani had split up from Amara and Roberto to go checkout the killer robot display, so the two South American mutants had decided to check out the performance artists. After seeing a some fire jugglers, Roberto got an idea. He stepped out onto the stage and grabbed a mic.  
  
"Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, cats and dogs of all ages! Tonight, for one time only, you can witness the pyrotechnic wizardry of the Fabulous Amara!" he said, and the dragged her on stage.  
  
"The Fabulous Amara?" she muttered to herself, "I am SO going to get you for this Roberto. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but one day."  
  
The crowd yelled out some words of encouragement, so Amara stepped up to the mic.  
  
"Senors y senoritas, your attention por favor!" she said, and once the crowd died down she spoke again, " Deep in the heart of the amazon, I met an Indian shaman who knew the secret language of fire...and before he died, he taught me how to master the living flame!"  
  
She then put her hands together and, after saying some "magic words" made a small fire in the cup of her hands. "Behold!" she cried out, as the crowd gasped in amazement.  
  
Someone in crowd asked, "How'd you do that? Industrial Light and magic?"  
  
"I can't reveal our tricks of the trade." Amara said sweetly, giving him a gentle smile. While Roberto threw in, "Yeah, if we told you we'd have to kill you!"  
  
With that they took their bows and left the crowd to the other acts and made their way to the dance section.  
  
******  
  
Meanwhile, another group was reuniting, to share information and plan a strategy.  
  
"Well, looks like Frost's Mutivax machine was right on the money." Said the blonde girl code named Roulette. She turned to the boy next to her, a recent recruit named Jetstream. "You ready to earn your keep big boy?" she asked, with a taunting smile.  
  
The dark-skinned boy only had a scowl in return. "You are to call me Jetstream while in the field of combat, Roulette." He said, "So, what is our plan of attack?"  
  
Roulette shrugged. "Beats me. We can't really make a plan until Empath gets back anyway." She said.  
  
The purple haired girl known called Catseye perked up, the tail that was part of her human form swishing about. " Catseye smell Empathperson. He with fireboy and firegirl in dance area." She said in simplistic speech.  
  
Jetstream rolled his eyes. " I should have known. Empath never takes his responsibilities seriously," he said. "We will just have to proceed without him. I will not have my first mission botched due to his ego and laziness."  
  
Roulette stifled a yawn. "Whatever Haroun." she said, purposely using the boys real name to anger him. " We wouldn't want to disappoint Ms. Frost now would we? Especially after that nice gift she gave you."  
  
Jetstream only growled in response, causing her to smile. She so liked to toy around with people, it was just so much fun.  
  
"At any rate," she continued, " Catseye, you go after the Wolf girl, even with the computer geek you shouldn't have too much trouble. Tarot, Jetstream, you two can handle the hick and that new girl, right? Good. I'll take care of Proudstar. Empath will just have to take care of himself."  
  
The others nodded their heads in agreement and started to make they're way to their designated targets.  
  
Oh, and one more thing, " Roulette said, "Tarot, if something goes wrong, you what to do, right?"  
  
The dark-haired girl nodded. "Wee. I know. They shall not know what hit them." She said, her eyes going up to the tower.  
  
******  
  
Nearby, Roberto and Amara are caught in the rhythmic undertow of sound created by four synchronized (and bottom heavy) car stereos.  
  
"I haven't let go like this since the Carnivale in San Paulo!" Roberto said, completely exultant as he tore off his shirt.  
  
"Shake it, don't break it, Roberto." Amara, said, giving him a flirty grin.  
  
The music pushes them together, awakening an attraction.  
  
"Amara..."  
  
Stripping them of inhibition.  
  
"Roberto..."  
  
Igniting a desire in a single, passionate kiss. Slowly, they broke apart.  
  
"Wow...did we just do that?" Roberto asked, a little shocked.  
  
Um, I'm not sure but..." Amara replied, pretty stunned herself. "why don't we try it again?  
  
Roberto smiled, "I'll second that motion." He said, and the two kissed again.  
  
"Well, isn't that cute." a voice interrupted.  
  
The two broke away from their kiss. "What the? Wait, You're that Empath kid from Massachusetts!" Roberto said, angrily.  
  
Empath smiled. "Correct! Give that boy a cigar! Seriously now, that was quite the display you had there you two, maybe you need a room?"  
  
"Just shut up!" Amara growled, "That is business between Roberto and myself!"  
  
"Oh really? You think so eh?" Empath said with a taunting smile. " You see, my powers allow me to manipulate people emotions, and do with them as I wish. Who's to say I didn't have a helping hand?"  
  
"You bastard!" Roberto said, adding a Spanish curse for good measure. "People aren't you're playthings!"  
  
"Oh, but they are." the Spanish boy replied. "Just watch." his eyes then began to glow purple, and suddenly the crowd started to become very hostile towards the two former X-men.  
  
"Roberto, what do we do? We can't hurt them! They're innocents!" Amara said, dodging a punch from a nearby girl."  
  
Roberto had to shove a few guys into each other to protect himself. "I don't know Amara...this is bad. Very bad!"  
  
******  
  
Meanwhile, James Proudstar wasn't doing any better. The three of them had been enjoying themselves watching the robot deathmatches, when the festivities had been rudely interrupted by the three of the Hellions, his ex-schoolmates. Jennifer, who called herself Roulette had used one of the black luck discs on him, resulting in such bad luck and that she was actually holding her own in their fight. Of course her excellent martial arts skills and the fact that she had used a red luck disc to increase her own good luck had helped her out too.  
  
"You're pretty good hotstuff," Roulette said, flirtingly, "Too bad you didn't come over to our side, I could have made things real worthwhile."  
  
James parried a blow, but was unsuccessful in landing a counter attack. "Yeah, well I'd rather be with friends than some floozy!" he shot back, hoping to distract her.  
  
The two continued their duel, as more fighting surrounded them. Dani was having a very hard time with Tarot's card demons. She had already taken down a psychotic jester when Tarot had drawn the Fool Card, and was currently trying to dodge several swords after the Sword card had been drawn, and Sam was currently engaged in an air duel with the newest Hellion, who had surprised them when he started flying with what seemed to be mechanical engines in his legs, neither of the fliers was giving an inch in their aerial dogfight.  
  
******  
  
"Dougie, I'm worried. " Rahne said, " The others should have been back by now."  
  
Doug looked up from his laptop ad said "Yeah, you're right." He then stood and looked out through the crowd. "Well, I don't see them coming back. Do you think we should go look for them?"  
  
Rahne sighed and nodded her head. "Yes, I'd like that. I guess we can try the carnival section first, and then." She then cut herself short and sniffed the air.  
  
Doug looked worried. "What's the matter Rahne?" He asked, his fists clenched, and he tried to keep on his toes and be as aware as he could.  
  
Rahne growled and shoved Doug out of the way just as Catseye pounced, knocking her to the ground.  
  
"Hello computerboy! Catseye not meet you in a while." She said, smiling before morphing into her werepanther form. However, before she could attack Doug, Rahne, in her full Wolf form, tackled her, and morphed again into her werewolf form to give her more leverage, and the two tore into each other, slashing, cutting, and biting.  
  
"Yuir can't just do things like that!" Rahne growled out once she was able to get some breathing room. "Don't ye have any qualms? There are innocent people about!"  
  
"Catseye not care furgirl. People not care about Catseye so Catseye not care about people." her opponent replied before jumping to attack once again.  
  
Rahne had been caught off guard by the sudden attack, and she fought back the best she could, however Catseye had the advantage and she was capitalizing on it, using her claws to slice into Rahne, who cried out in pain.  
  
"Get off of her!" Doug yelled out, he had managed to grab a stray 2x4 and ran and swung hard onto Catseye's back.  
  
"Aaaah!" She cried out, the shock forcing her to turn into what she considered her "natural" form. That of a small violet cat. Seeing Rahne get back up, and the fire in her eyes, Catseye quickly realized the trouble she was in and scampered off.  
  
Doug tossed the piece of wood away and checked on Rahne, who morphed back to her human form.  
  
"Rahne, you're hurt!" he said checking her cuts. "You should be ok, the cuts aren't too deep." He said, and helped her into the tent.  
  
"Thank ye Dougie." Rahne said as she laid down on the bed. "But I'm worried about the others now. Catseye can't be by herself."  
  
Doug nodded his head as he pulled out the first aid box and started to dress her wounds. "Yeah...but for right now we can't help. You're too hurt."  
  
Rahne sighed. "I know Doug. I just hope the others are ok."  
  
******  
  
Back in the dance area, Roberto and Amara had begun to make some progress, as it was becoming more and more obvious that Empath was overexerting himself, controlling too many people at one time, giving them the advantage they were looking for.  
  
Amra had managed to get through the crowd first, using her powers to lightly give those in her way hotfoots. Finally she quickly grabbed Emptah, holding his arm behind his back in a painful hold.  
  
"Ok, jerk. Release them Now!" she growled into his ear. She was not fond of people who were used. She'd seen it too often in her own royal court back at her home of Nova Roma. She twisted the arm more for emphasis.  
  
"Agh!" Empath cried out. He didn't like being in a position like this. But he felt like he had no choice. the girl was liable to break his arm off. "All right, all right! Fine! I'll calm them off!" his eyes returned to their brown color and slowly the people calmed down. Amara then released him. Empath rubbed his arm gingerly.  
  
Amara crossed her arms. "Now then, I think it's time the authorities had a nice chat with you." She said, walking up to him.  
  
"I don't think so!" Empath replied, his eyes going back to the purplish color that signified that his powers were active. Amara was shocked when Roberto, his powers activated, had grabbed onto her. Empath chuckled, and said "See you later babe. I'm going to take my leave." He blew her a mock kiss and ran off, only releasing his grip on Roberto when he was a safe distance away.  
  
Roberto shook his head and depowered. "Amara? What happened?" he asked, looking thoroughly confused.  
  
Amara sighed. "It was Empath. He took control of you. At least you're back to normal now." She said. "Come on we better go find the others."  
  
******  
  
Sam knew he couldn't keep this up much longer. The kid with the rocket legs was just as fast as he was, if not faster. Then a plan formulated in his head. He flew straight at his opponent and tackled him.  
  
"What are you doing you fool?! Fight me honorably!" Jetstream screamed. His face was livid with rage.  
  
Sam chuckled. "Don't worry fella y'all ain't gonna be in this position much longer!" he said, and angled them both into a nosedive straight towards the ground.  
  
Jetstream was shocked. His opponent was mad! "You're crazy! Let go of me!" he screamed out, his face full of fear. "Please! You've got to-" he was cut off as they crashed into the ground hard. He realized he was fading in and out of consciousness. Out of the corner of his eye he was his opponent, the blonde boy, slowly and shakily stand up. "But...how...." He managed to gasp out, and was conscious long enough for the boy to reply in an almost friendly tone "Simple. Ah'm invulnerable when Ah'm blastin." and then he slipped into unconsciousness.  
  
******  
  
Dani felt the ground rumble from the impact Sam and his opponent generated, she spared a fleeting glance to see if Sam was ok, since she had come to care for the boy during there short journey, and was glad he was ok. She then turned to her opponent, Tarot. The girl was in the process of drawing another card, and Dani knew that this was her one chance.  
  
"What do you fear?" she asked in a strong tone of voice.  
  
"What?" Tarot replied, she was distracted, and then it was too late.  
  
"Gotcha." Dani said. Using her mutant power of drawing out people's greatest fears and bringing them to life.  
  
At first Tarot didn't understand what was going, then suddenly her cards flew out of her hand. "What? What is going on?" she asked, but the cards did not reply, they flew away, she chased after them, but as fast as she ran, the cards were faster. She panicked. The cards were everything. They dictated the future. Her future. Without them.....  
  
Tarot fell to her knees, the cards scattered all around her, and sobbed, her will to fight gone.  
  
*****  
  
It didn't take long for Roulette to realize that she was in deep trouble. She saw Jetstream's defeat, and heard Tarot crying.  
  
"Damn." She hissed. through gritted teeth. To top it all off, her luck discs were wearing off, and she knew that it wouldn't be long before Proudstar's strength and speed got her. So, she did the instinctive thing. She fought dirty, quickly grabbing some dirt and flinging it into James's face. She then quickly ran and grabbed Jetstream and yelled out "Tarot! Pull back! And don't forget the surprise!" and then got the heck out of there, Tarot right after her after having made sure and grabbed all of her cards.  
  
******  
  
Afterwards the team had regrouped in the tent. Rahne was feeling better, though she would need to take things easy for a few days.  
  
"Well, at least that's all over." Dani said, sitting down onto a folding chair. "Maybe now we can do what we came here to do. Relax."  
  
James nodded. "Oh yeah. I agree, I just want to relax and enjoy the rest of this insane festival!" he said, stretching out.  
  
Meanwhile, Roberto and Amara were quietly whispering with each other.  
  
"I'm not going to tell them. YOU tell them." She said.  
  
"I'M not saying anything." He replied.  
  
"We have to tell them something!" she countered back.  
  
"But who's to say that it was us doing it? It could have been Empath." he said.  
  
Amara sighed. " I know I know, but still, we should tell them anyway."  
  
However before they had the chance to make up their minds, Sam peeked out the tent and looked up. just in time to see the tower moving! Soon they could feel a loud crash, which quieted the whole team.  
  
"Hey guys, Ah know this an alternative culture kinda event," He said, "but is that ol' metal fella supposed to be ripping free of it's mooring?" he turned back around. "Uh, guys?"  
  
******  
  
The Hellion's back up plan was simple but effective. Tarot drew the Tower card from her deck, and used it to bring to life the Towering Inferno structure. The tower began to move, infused not only with the sparks of life, but also the primal need to be free. The crowd panicked and ran almost immediately.  
  
"Somebody grab the ropes!"  
  
"Like that's gonna help Jocko!"  
  
"Ah know Ah ken bring it down wit' mah trusty twelve gauge!"  
  
"Run away! Run Away!"  
  
"There's no place like home. There's no place home!"  
  
"Boy did I pick the wrong day to quit psychedelics!"  
  
******  
  
Our young team of heroes watches the mayhem and pandemonium unfold.  
  
"What do we do y'all?" Sam said, "This is one big task!"  
  
"I think I've got a plan." Dani said. "Sam, I want you to fly into it, you should be able to take away a lot of debris that way. Bobby and Jimmy, use your strength to try and slow it down. Rahne, Doug, and myself will try and keep the crown under control and herd them away from the Tower. Amara, I want you to create the biggest fireball you can, and let it have it. Once she launches the fireball, I want you three to get out of their fast, is that understood?"  
  
The others nodded and got to work. James and Roberto ran up and held on, shoving against and planting their feet, slowing the Tower's pace to a crawl. Sam flew up to the tower and collided into it, knocking away large parts of debris. Rahne had morphed into her wolf form and herded the crowd as best she could, while Doug and Dani tried to get people to safety zones. Meanhile, Amara was deep in concentration.  
  
"Ok everyone! Get clear! I'm going to finish this thing once and for all!" she yelled out. She was in her full fire form, and had summoned a huge fireball. "Of course, I've never made a fireball this big before...but a walking erector set calls for unusual solutions!" and with that she let the fireball fly, which detonated on impact, destroying the tower in a huge explosion, lighting up the night like some sort of midnight sun.  
  
The group ran to Amara, who had dropped to her knees, depowered, totally exhausted.  
  
"Y'all ok Amara?" Sam said worriedly.  
  
"Yes...I'm ok Sam...just need some rest." Amara said, and then laid down, and fell asleep. Bobby picked her up.  
  
"Well, it looks like the large debris was destroyed in the explosion, and so far no casualties have been reported, thankfully." Doug said, summarizing what he had heard.  
  
"Good. I just hope the news reporters report this fairly." James said. " Because this is SO going to be on the nightly news."  
  
Sam nodded his head, and said, "Well, This has been some night y'all."  
  
The other nodded in agreement. Those words said it all.  
  
******  
  
And so, as transitory community convened, it disassembled. Leaving little trace that it had happened at all. Our heroes are off on the road again. Fighting for a dream of better coexistence between humans and mutants their own. way.  
  
End of fifth chapter.  
  
Author's notes: Sorry for the delay. I got a bit of writer's block. Hope you all liked the chapter! Major inspiration for this was X-Force #75, an amusing read. And now we're starting to get into the relationships. Rahne and Doug are bonding a bit, and Sam and Dani are developing a friendship, but will it blossom into something? Sore wa hime desu! (Japanese for: That is a secret!) As for Roberto and Amara, things heated up a bit eh? But was it true feelings or Empath's manipulations? I'll be exploring that later on. Same with Doug's feeling's of uselessnes, believe me, I have a big plan for young Mr. Ramsey! Oh, and as for Magik? You're in luck! I decided to include her! We'll be seeing her chapter 7, and the team will also finally get some uniforms too! But as for next chapter....  
  
Next Chapter: We explore the bad guys! What makes the Hellions tick? What are they're motivations and dreams, and what connection does their leader, Emma Frost have with Charles Xavier? Read all about it next chapter! 


	6. The H Files

The New Mutants  
By: Joey  
Disclaimer: Sorry, I don't own these characters, Marvel Comics and I believe KidsWB! (or at least they do for the Evo version) does, and I'm only using the character for entertainment only, no harm meant.  
  
Chapter 6  
The H files  
  
Previously: The team goes to the Towering Inferno festival to rest, relax and party down. However they're plans get interrupted when the Hellions make the scene. The team manages to both drive them off and stop the possessed tower itself, saving the day. Also, Roberto and Amara now have to figure out if the kiss they shared at the festival was genuine or if it was influenced by Empath.  
  
******  
  
Emma Frost laid back in her leather chair. She was in her office dressed in a red business suit. Her students, the Hellions, had just given her the report of their latest mission. Suffice to say, it was not what she had wanted. Those students that had left Xavier's were tough nuts to crack. She also was not pleased to find out that they had been joined by another gifted teenager.   
  
*Bringing out a person's greatest fears* she mused to herself *How very useful it could have been. *  
  
She had managed to recruit mutants who she believed to be the best, and she trained them hard, her Hellions were to be the elite of the elite, capable of performing any task. Now they were being shown up upstarts. She would make sure that they would be much better prepared for the next time. Already she was developing programs to test her young students to their limits and beyond, next time they will be sure to defeat those miscreants and bring them back to her, then she could just reach into their minds and force them to work for her. She was skilled enough in telepathy. After all, she had been training by the best. Professor Charles Xavier.  
  
She had been one of his first students. Working together with a two twenty-one year olds (well the boy looked to be about in his twenties), a weather controlling girl named Ororo and boy with steel claws who only called himself Logan, they learned to use their powers in accordance with Charles Xavier's dream. They had briefly been joined by a teen by the name of Hank McCoy, but he had left almost as quickly as he had shown up. She remembered when the arguments started. Bored with her classmates, Emma had started use her telepathic skills in more intriguing ways, using it to take control of student's motor skills, treating them as playthings.  
  
Naturally, Xavier had been furious when he found out. He tried to put some mental barriers on her, to suppress her powers as a way of discipline, but she fought back and broke them, and then she was able to achieve quite a great victory, in a way she broke him. He became so angry he actually tried to control her. He was just about to finish the job when he noticed the smirk on her face, and he stopped. She had made him crossover to the "darkside" so to speak, breaking his spirit by pushing him into realms he had promised never to go into. Shortly afterward, she left, and was quickly able to use her powers to secure a fortune, using her mind reading skills to play Wallstreet like a fool, enabling her to start her own multibillion dollar company, Frost Enterprises. Her power and influence eventually earned her spot in the elite Inner Circle of the infamous Hellfire Club's New York chapter, home to the most powerful of business people. Of course, little did Xavier know that she had even stolen some Cerebro files and used them to create her own mutant detecting machine, dubbed the Mutivax. She put it to good use, finding and recruiting the powerful mutants who joined her, either in her quest for power, as Empath did, gratitude, which was the case of Catseye and Jetstream, money, which was why Roulette was here, or in case of Tarot, because the fates decreed it. Starting with those five children, she started the Massachusetts Academy, which, even though it was filled full of human students, was truthfully a cover for her Hellions, they learned the ways of the world, and secretly, the art of combat.  
  
"Soon," she said to herself. "My Hellions and I will control that is rightfully ours, because we are the elite, and we will get all that we deserve. After all, with my fortune and powers, what could stop me anyway?"  
  
Slowly, she turned back to her computer screen and brought up the files of her young Hellions.  
  
******  
  
File: Empath  
Student's name: Manuel Alfonso Rodrigo de la Rocha  
Designated rank: Black Knight  
Hair: Brown   
Eyes: Brown  
Powers: Psionic manipulation of emotions. Eyes become purple during power activation.  
Personal log: Manuel is cocky, probably because he is the son of Spanish nobleman. He needs to learn to follow orders, especially mine. I feel he could a potential problem. He also seems to have a bit of sadistic side. I might be able to use that to my advantage, but I'll need to watch over him, as that could be a problem at some point.  
  
"Curse those two." Manuel said, laying down on his rather extravagant bed. He had secured for himself the biggest room of all his teammates, touting that it only made sense, him being the son of a nobleman and all. He was however, still upset over his loss to Sunspot and Magma during their brief skirmish at the Towering Inferno festival. "How dare they try and lay a hand on me. Next time I will not be so merciful." He growled.  
  
He got up and started to pace around the room. "Those fools. I may have manipulated them a small bit into their little emotional exchange, but I did sow several seeds of doubt." He said, smirking to himself. "And next time, I plan on having a lot more fun with them!"  
  
He sighed. "That girl though. She was....fascinating." he said. "Maybe I'll make her mine. A perfect trophy, complimenting me excellently. I like it. And I always get what I want."  
  
He then caught something out of the corner of his eye. A girl was outside, probably on her way to class. A pretty little thing too. He smiled. *Perfect way to release some stress. * he thought to himself. He then ran out to meet the girl, his eyes already glowing purple as he scanned her thoughts, picking and choosing what he could use towards his advantage.  
  
******  
  
File: Catseye  
Student's name: Sharon Smith  
Designated rank: White Knight  
Hair: Lavender  
Eyes: Lavender  
Powers: Transformation into a catlike being while retaining human intelligence. Possesses wall climbing abilities and a prehensive tail. Has a were-cat transitional form and the ability to turn into a normal sized lavender cat. Retains the eyes of a cat and a cat's tail while in human form.  
Personal log: Sharon is a very fascinating case. Unlike most mutants, who's powers manifest during their teenage years, Sharon was born with her mutant abilities. In fact, it is my understanding that she was abandoned and raised as a cat, since I found her in a New York alleyway, and managed to teach her to transform, and I gave her the name she now uses. It would not surprise me at all if she still believes herself to be a cat who transform into a human. However, the speed at which she picked up the English language, even if she does use simplistic speech astounds me. I believe her to be a possible idiot savant, though it might very well be possible for there to be hidden genius tucked away in her innocent, trusting mind.   
  
Catseye wandered around the large forested area of the academy. She liked being in her cat form most of all, and that was the shape she was in at the moment. *Catseye like romp-play in woodplace.* She thought, since she couldn't speak aloud. *It best bestplace of all. *  
  
She continued her fun, indiscriminately chasing smaller animals such as squirrels, or the occasional butterfly, not in malice, but in innocent playfulness. She continued to think to herself, wondering about the previous task that MotherFrost had given her and the other non fur people. * What furgirl mean by doing bad things? MotherFrost nice lady. She teach Catseye many things, like speak in people language, and teach her to grow people shape. * She thought. *MotherFrost only person nice to Catseye. Why listen to bad people? Furgirl wrong, and MotherFrost right. *  
  
She then mewed in contentment. *Catseye like happyplace. Want to stay here forever. * she thought, chasing a crimson butterfly. *Maybe furgirl get smart and join Catseye someday in happyplace. *  
  
******  
  
File Name: Tarot  
Student's name: Marie-Ange Colbert  
Designated rank: White Rook  
Hair: Red  
Eyes: Green  
Powers: The ability to bring the images of Tarot cards to life. These images become her servants, and can be lethal in battle.   
Personal log: Marie is a very enigmatic girl. She is very shy and quiet most of the time, and seems to have an incredible attachment to her Tarot cards. I believe that she can expand her powers beyond the cards, however she never seems inclined to do so. She also has some precognitive powers, though they are not mutant in origin. She is just incredibly skilled in the arts of the Tarot. I tend to use that to my advantage, using it as a means to plan my strategies.  
  
*No fear. The cards will not leave me. The cards are all. * Marie thought to herself. She had been taught the art of Tarot reading at a young age by her mother, and now had begun to rely on them. After all, they held the future, it was just all in the art to decipher their meaning.   
  
Marie thought back to her mother and father, happily living in their mansion in Paris. They had been apprehensive about Madame Frost's offer, at first, but she had convinced them easily enough. Her mother especially so. The cards had told her to go with Frost, and so she did. The cards were always right, after all. She shuffled the deck, preparing herself for another reading, cleansing her mind of all troubles.   
  
The memory of her battle with the Moonstar girl appeared in her mind. It was a very unpleasant experience. The cards leaving her was a nightmare that she had never experienced before. The thought of losing the cards was horrifying, they knew all, the loss of the knowledge that they gave to her would be shattering. "I will pay that girl back." She said grimly. "No one has ever made me so feel like she did, and no one ever will again."  
  
She then stopped shuffling the deck and started to place the cards down, reading what the fates had in store for her and her teammates.  
  
*No fear. The cards will not leave me. The cards are all....*  
  
******  
  
Filename: Roulette  
Student's name: Jennifer Stavros  
Designated rank: Black Rook  
Hair: Light Blonde  
Eyes: Blue  
Powers: Able to create discs of psionic energy that are able to alter the probability fields of their targets. These discs can either be tossed at the target or be transferred by touch. Red colored discs signify good luck, while black colored discs signify bad luck.  
Personal log: Jennifer is the daughter of an Atlantic City Blackjack dealer, and is quite the conartist and thief. When I found her she was a member of a local street gang, and joined after I promised her great wealth. I see great potential in her, and she is probably my Hellions unofficial leader.  
  
"God, I love the street." Jennifer said to herself. "Here I can be free, and go my own way!". She was walking along a busy street corner, taking in the sights and doing a little bit of window shopping. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a street hustler playing a game of three card Monty *Child's play. The perfect mark. * she thought to herself, and gave a light giggle. She made her way over and watched the action.  
  
The man laid tree cards down on the table, "C'mon! It's easy! Just find the heart!" he called out, twisted the cards around, sending them dancing all across the table. He then stopped, and called out "Ok, any takers?". Jennifer had followed everything easily. This guy was an amateur. However she decided to study him some more. Two people guessed putting their money on the table, but they were both wrong, as the card was revealed to be in the middle, and the man quickly scooped up his earned cash. Jennifer watched the next game, and smiled. *He switched out the red card. * she thought to herself, and sure enough, both of the guesses were incorrect. Quickly, she turned the last remaining card over, revealing it to be an ace of spades. The crowd groaned, while the man tried to play the nice guy, promising no more tricks. Jennifer, however, decided it was time to fleece him.  
  
"Excuse me sir, but I have a proposition," she said, flashing an irresistible grin. "three hundred dollars. Double or nothing for three games." and then put the money down on the table. The man hesitated, but decided to risk it, he quickly moved the cards around. She smirked. *Too easy. I don't even have to use my discs. * she thought to herself. She picked the left card, and guessed correctly. *That's six hundred dollars, easy money. * she thought. The man tried again, this time Jennifer chose the right side, and once again she was correct. "That's one thousand, two hundred dollar, so far hot shot. Want to make it twenty-four?" she practically purred out. The man gulped, and wiped his brow, and attempted to work his magic one more time. When he was done, Jennifer crossed her arms. "C'mon now, no more tricks." She said, and quickly flipped over the three cards to reveal they were all black.  
  
The man looked even more nervous and spun the cards once more. Grinning like a cat that ate the canary, Jennifer picked up the middle card, revealing the heart. "Looks like I win, big boy," she said, "pay up.". The man grumbled, and handed her the money. But, her fun didn't end there. Subtly, she had created a black disc and when their hands touched, she sent it into him, and on her way out, all the people she bumped into to get out of the crowd were injected with red discs.   
  
Counting her money, Jennifer Stravros smiled. * I LOVE the streets! * she thought.  
  
******  
  
Filename: Jetstream  
Student's name: Haroun Ibn Sallah al-Rashid  
Designated rank: Black Bishop  
Hair: Black  
Eyes: Black  
Powers: His body creates and propels rocket fire from his legs, causing flight. I believe he may eventually be able to reach speeds of Mach 1. Currently outfitted with cybernetic implants to control and harness the power.  
Personal log: The newest of my recruits, Haroun, a Berber Moor, also has a troublesome honor streak. However, he is obligated to me above all others, as it is I that repaired his body after his powers destroyed his legs. The cybernetic implants increased the power of his legs, and now allows him to properly control his powers. All thanks to me, and now he is eternally in my debt, thanks to his sense of honor. He really should be thankful, all that power, now at his to command. Too bad he didn't realize it cost him his soul!  
  
The academies gym was filled with noise. Violent noise. The Hellion known as Jetstream was training, against a gym bag, attempting to improve his body, develop it into a perfect weapon. It was a quirk of his really, he never took defeats very well. It was one of the things that had been ingrained in him as a child by his father. *Always fight with honor. Always repay debts. Never lose a battle. * he could hear his father's words in his mind.  
  
He stopped to cool off for a few second. He looked at his legs, or really, his new legs. When his powers first manifested, he had been ecstatic. He flew over the Moroccan skies in wonder. It had been one of the happiest moments in his young life. Each flight, he tested himself, flying higher and faster, exploring what seemed to be a whole new world among the clouds. But then it all came to end. e started to feel pains in his legs, and slowly, the burns appeared. The fire that propelled him, was slowly eating away at him, crippling him. He was losing, no matter how hard he tried to stop it.  
  
Then, his family had been approached by Emma Frost, from America. She had said that she could use her technology to fix him. Give him back use of legs, enabling him ton control his powers. Even if his family hadn't excepted he would have made sure he got the treatment. Soon, he was flown to America courtesy of Frost Enterprises, and was given cybernetic leg implants. Even though they felt exactly like real legs, to others, and even himself, now he could kick harder than any regular human, and he could control his powers, enabling him to fly higher and faster than ever before, with no worries at all about his body being consumed by the flames. Naturally, his father's words came back to him. *Always repay your debts. *, and so he agreed to work for Frost as part of her Hellions, he didn't really care about the conflict between mutants and humans, he knew he had a debt of honor to repay, and he would do whatever it took to pat Frost back for giving him back his life.  
  
Then he thought back to his first real battle with the young American. He had been called Cannonball, due to his flight powers. Upon seeing the boy, Haroun had felt he would be an easy target. He had no rocket fire, no increased flight control. How could he possibly win against a superior opponent? In the end, he had underestimated his opponent and it had cost him dearly. He had lost. How could he have known boy had a protective barrier? But it was no matter, it was still a humiliation to his honor, and he WOULD NOT stand for it. "I will pay you back, cur." he whispered to himself, fire in his eyes. He then stood back up, and kicked the bag as hard as he could. It flew off it's chain and crashed into the wall, the bag was destroyed on impact, and the wall was incredibly cracked. "Such will be your fate."  
  
******  
  
Emma Frost closed the files on her students. * I wonder if my Hellions will ever get to go into battle with Xavier's students, those "X-Men" he had always dreamed about? * she mused to herself. *No matter. We WILL crush them, but when the time comes, and then the world will be our oyster! *. She then took a sip from her nearby goblet of red wine, and threw her head back in haughty laugh.  
  
  
End of Sixth Chapter.  
  
Author's notes: Well, that was harder than I thought it would be. Seriously, the Hellions never really got a whole lot of character development in the comics, and what little I knew of their past, I had to dig up from information sites. So now you know why some people had shorter scenes then others, I just had a harder time working with them. But yes, Catseye did talk like that, in case you're curious. I did Evo-ise Emma Frost's past. I thought making her a failed student of Xavier's would be interesting, especially the dynamics of just why she left in the first place (Happy Neva?). I know we have no real evidence of Wolverine or Storm as young students of Xavier's, but I thought it would be interested if she had some "teammates" so to speak. As for the individual Hellions, most of their origins are from the comics, and I more or less stuck with that, though I did rearrange some of Jetstream's origin, and retooled his powers (all the descriptions of them I found are so close to Cannonball's, it's hard to tell the difference, so I just reworked things a bit), so he's the most Evo-ised of all the Hellions. Oh yeah, Imhotep Ardeth Bay, Jamie isn't go to be a big player in this (he is only twelve after all) but look for a small guest appearance by the little guy in Chapter 8 (which I think you all might like), ok? Remember, C&C is always appreciated!  
  
Next Chapter: The team runs into (literally!) a runaway from Russia named Illynana, who's come to America to find her older brother Piotr (Peter in Russian). But what secrets does she hide? And what do they have to do with the Shadowrealm that all teleporters must go through, the land known as Limbo? Plus, the team finally gets some uniforms! 


	7. Do You Believe In Magik?

The New Mutants  
  
By: Joey  
  
Disclaimer: Sorry, I don't own these characters, Marvel Comics and I believe KidsWB! (or at least they do for the Evo version) does, and I'm only using the characters for entertainment only, no harm meant.  
  
will be used for language translations in this chapter.  
  
Chapter 7  
  
"Do you believe in Magik?"  
  
Previously: We got to see a little more insight into the pasts, and the motivations of each of the Hellions, and their mysterious teacher, Emma Frost.  
  
******  
  
It had been a few days after the Towering Inferno festival, and the team was back on the road. Their plan was to try and make some sort of permanent home on the West coast, where they could all go to school and still be as proactive as they could be. Currently the team was in Denver, Colorado so that the van they were traveling in could be serviced. Initially, James, who had grown to be the team's driver and mechanic had been apprehensive to have the van professionally checked on, since he had grown very fond of it, but after a lot of discussion (and Roberto having to use his solar enchanced strength to drag him away from his beloved van) the van was taken to an auto shop.  
  
So now, the entire group was at a nearby diner, ready to have some food and plan on where to go next.  
  
"Hi, my name is Ben Reilly, I'll be your waiter. What can I get you all?" said the waiter, who looked to be about the James's age, with bleached blonde hair, and a friendly smile.  
  
"Hamburger and a 7up." Sam said, looking up from his menu.  
  
"I'll have a coke and a B.L.T" James said.  
  
"I'll just have a salad." Amara said, not bothering to look at the menu.  
  
"Just some water will be fine." Rahne said.  
  
"I'll have the turkey sandwich." Doug said, handing his menu over to the waiter.  
  
"You have a steak, right?" Roberto asked, when Ben nodded his head, he replied, "Excellent. I'll have that, medium rare."  
  
"I'll have a hamburger too." Dani said.  
  
With that, Ben left to go place their orders, and the team turned back to one another to discuss plans.  
  
"So, where do y'all think we should go? We've been on the road a few months now, heading westward." Sam said. "But we gotta have some sort of destination other than the West coast."  
  
"How about California?" Robert said, "Nice weather, friendly people, and probably in need of some mutant hero assistance."  
  
"Awe, you're probably hoping to scope out some babes in skimpy bikini's man." James said, grinning.  
  
"An added perk." Roberto said, leaning back.  
  
"Well, that may be nice, but there is some pretty high land cost there too." Doug chimed in. "I did some research on home costs in local states." He explained.  
  
Rahne sighed. "There goes that idea. Some place warm would have been nice too." She said.  
  
"Hey, hey, let's not lose hope here. I can just pay for the thing." Roberto said casually.  
  
"What?! How?" Dani said, shocked. "It's a house for crying out loud!"  
  
Roberto shrugged. "My folks are millionaires, so I have a small fortune in my bank account," he said, still very casual, despite everyone else's exasperated looks. "What? Didn't I tell you guys?"  
  
"NO!" the others said in unison. "Sorry. Sheesh." Roberto said sheepishly. "If it makes you feel any better I'll pay for the meal..."  
  
******  
  
About an hour later, everyone had finished their meals, and left the diner, so they headed back to the auto shop. When they arrived James immediately went to check on the van.  
  
"So, what's the damage?" he asked as he walked up to the mechanic.  
  
"Well, the carburetor isn't shot, Mr. Proudstar, but it has seen better days, so in my opinion, it'd be safer if you got it replaced now, and not have the hassle of doing it later." the mechanic said, pointing the auto part to illustrate his point.  
  
James nodded his head in agreement. "Right, sounds like a good idea," he said. "So how long will it take to put the part in?"  
  
The mechanic sighed. "Well, that's the bad news son, you see we're out of carbs at the moment, and if we order it now, we'll get it a new one by tomorrow" he then gave a shrug, "Sorry son, hope you and your friends weren't in a hurry."  
  
James crossed his arms and sighed. "Well, not anymore we're not."  
  
******  
  
"So, what's the verdict Jimmy? The van ready?" Dani asked as James walked out of the garage.  
  
"Sorry to tell you guys but we're getting a part replaced, so we're stuck here for another day." He replied as he walked up the assembled group.  
  
Sam snapped his fingers. "Dang. Ah was hoping to get back on the road as fast as we could," he said. "Looks like that idea's been shot down."  
  
"Aye." Rahne said, nodding her head. "But what will we do paying for the part? I'm not exactly a mechanic, but it must be expensive."  
  
The others turned to Roberto. "Ok, ok, I'll pay for it," he said, and pulled out his wallet, grumbling to himself. "Sheesh. You don't tell your friends your a millionaire and they hold it to you forever."  
  
******  
  
Once the new carburetor was prepaid for, the team walked to a nearby motel, where Roberto "volunteered" to pay for two separate rooms, one for the boys, and one for the girls. A few hours later, the boy's were awakened by a knocking on the door.  
  
"Oh, man. What is with the noise! Roberto, did you order room service or something?" James asked groggily, shooting his friend with a nasty look.  
  
"No way amigo! Even I wouldn't do something that stupid!" Roberto said, wrapping a pillow over his head in a futile attempt to try and damper the noise.  
  
"Ah don't care, Roberto, just someone answer the dang door!" Sam yelled, he had been having a great dream, and wasn't very happy with it being so rudely interrupted.  
  
Deciding to take matters into his own hands, Doug got out of the bed and sleepily walked over to the door. "Hello?" he asked, and was soon surprised to see a blonde haired girl standing outside the door. "Um, what can I do for you?" he asked, not really sure what to say.  
  
"Excuse me.....I am....looking for Piotr, my brother. He.....has been gone a long time...My English isn't very good....have you seen him?" the girl asked in broken English with a Russian accent. She held up a photo of a young man who looked to be in his late teens or early twenties. "This is him."  
  
Doug shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I haven't seen anyone like that." He said. Quickly stepping aside, he said, "Please, come in, it's cold out."  
  
The girl gave a quick nod of thanks and stepped inside. Doug quickly pulled out a chair for her to sit in, which she gratefully excepted.  
  
"What's goin' on Doug?" Sam said sleepily, "Who's she?"  
  
"Well, you see she's looking for her brother, and I thought she shouldn't stay out in the cold..." Doug replied, a little sheepish.  
  
"Right, right." Sam said, "Well maybe y'all should take her to the girls room, huh?"  
  
"I must find Piotr!" the girl said, pleadingly. "I followed the light to find him!"  
  
"Light? What light?" Sam said, a little confused.  
  
"I wanted to find him so badly.... I miss him greatly...and a few days ago...a light came to my aid, at my beck and call." She said.  
  
"Doug, do you think she's a mutant?" Sam asked  
  
"Maybe.....miss? Is it all right if we speak in Russian?" Doug asked, like this  
  
Why, yes. Thank you. the girl said. But how is it you speak my language?  
  
It's sort of a gift, I'm a mutant. Doug replied, smiling  
  
Really? I believe that is why Piotr left! Although he was a gifted artist, one day he found that he could become steel, and left for America to seek his fortune. The girl replied. Then her eyes widened. Oh! Excuse my rudeness! My name is Illyana Rasputin.  
  
It's nice to meet you Illyana. My name is Doug Ramsey. Doug said But you said something about a light, right? What do you mean by that?  
  
Well, one day, I was wishing with all my heart to see Piotr again, and then suddenly, right before me, was a circle of light. she explained, And so I stepped onto it, and then the next thing I know I'm in this wasteland...but right near me is another circle of light, and when I stepped into that one, I found myself in America.  
  
Well, it sounds like you might be a mutant too. Doug said, hoping she'd take the news well.  
  
Really? How wonderful! I can find Piotr easier now, can't I? she replied, surprisingly happy.  
  
Well, I guess, you can definitely get to him quicker if you can teleport, but you'd have to find him first. Doug replied.  
  
Before Illyana could reply however, there was a loud crash outside, causing the other boys to groggily get out of their beds.  
  
"Now what's going ?!" James cried out.  
  
Doug quickly checked the window, and turned back towards the others. "Well, guys, uh....it appears dinosaurs are attacking."  
  
******  
  
They knew their mission. They were to find and retrieve the intruder. They had failed in their last attempt, when a different intruder had invaded their master's realm, but this time, they're prey would not elude them. Roars and screams rang across the night.  
  
******  
  
It didn't take very long for the team to assemble together and try and assess the situation.  
  
"Unbelievable. Dinosaurs." Amara said, at a loss for words.  
  
Roberto turned to Sam and Dani, and asked, "Well you two are our co- leaders, what should we do?'  
  
"Well, Ah figure we should go and wrangle up some dinos, don't y'all think Dani?" Sam asked.  
  
Dani nodded her head. "Sounds good to me, better not split up though, we'll just take them down in one large group."  
  
"Uh, guys, sorry to interrupt, but Illyana thinks they followed her." Doug said, approaching the group.  
  
"What do ye mean Dougie?" Rahne asked, concerned.  
  
"Well, Illyana saw these things wandering around the area where she first teleported to, so she thinks they followed her when she came here." he replied.  
  
"Say, come to think of it, remember that incident at the school dance a year or so ago?" Roberto said, "You know, when we first came to Xavier's? Weren't some dinos involved with that too, after they followed Kurt from one of his teleports?"  
  
Sam snapped his fingers. "You're right! They got to be connected!" he said, "So we gotta get'em back to their realm and lock the door on them, right?" The others nodded in agreement. "Let's do it!" he said, and they ran to fight the overgrown lizards.  
  
The team fought hard, their job made easier once they realized that the dinosaurs seemed to not be able to take attacks very well.  
  
"Not half bad for a bunch of kids in their pajamas huh?" Roberto called out, punching one of the lizards in the head with his solar-powered strength. "Good thing these guys go down so easily, I'm not sure how long I can last without sunlight!"  
  
Before anyone could respond however, a scream rang out nearby. The dinos were dragging a young blonde girl near a dimension tear, created from forcing their way through Illyana's teleportation portal.  
  
"My daughter! Help! Anyone!" a nearby man cried out, and the team ran to his aid as fast as they could, but to no avail, the girl had been dragged through the portal which immediately closed.  
  
"Oh man!" James said, "We're too late!"  
  
"I'm sorry sir," Amara said, kneeling down to help the man get up. "We just couldn't get there in time."  
  
"My daughter...." the man groaned, on the verge of tears, "My little Tiffany..."  
  
"Hey, did you notice that the girl looked a bit like Illyana?" Doug observed, "Something tells me that they grabbed his daughter, mistaking her for Illyana."  
  
"Do you...think so?" Illyana said, struggling with her English. "I-I...am sorry...."  
  
"It's alright,we'll get her back." Dani said, reassuringly. "Do you think you can create another portal?" she asked the Russian girl.  
  
"I...believe I can....." she replied, wiping away some tears.  
  
Sam nodded his head. "Good. Everybody, get ready, we're gonna head out and get that girl back!"  
  
The others nodded their head, and ran to go get changed. All except Doug, whom Sam had held back.  
  
"Look, Doug...Ah'm not sure how to really put this, but we need you to stay behind." He said, trying to break the news as easy as he could.  
  
"What?! Why?" Doug said, shocked.  
  
"Well, it's your powers, y'all would just be too much of a liability, and none of us want to see you hurt, is all." Sam said.  
  
"....Fine....I understand." Doug replied, depression evident in his voice.  
  
"Thanks for understanding. We're gonna need ya to be our communication's man, you'll be our lifeline to outside, ok?" Sam said  
  
"Right...gotcha."  
  
******  
  
A few minutes later, the team reassembled. Sam, Rahne, Roberto and Amara had changed into their old recruit uniforms, while lacking anything else to wear, James, Dani, and Doug were in street clothes, while Illyana was still wearing the winter clothing that she had been wearing when they met her.  
  
"Ok, Illyana, you're up." Dani said, "You can do it." She added, hoping to reassure the nervous girl.  
  
Illyana nodded, and then concentrated, soon a disc of light appeared.  
  
"Please...step on..." Illyana said, motioning the others forward, and stepping into the light. The others followed, immersing themselves in the light.  
  
"Good luck everybody!" Doug yelled out. *And I wish I was going out there with you.* he added to himself.  
  
Soon the group slid down into the light, and then they were gone.  
  
******  
  
After Illyana's teleport had finished, the team found themselves in what looked like a demonic wasteland, lava flowed in the rivers, there was no sign of plant life, and the air was dank, reeking with the stench of brimstone. Doug's voice then cracked over Sam's comspeaker.  
  
"Everyone ok you guys? I'm getting traces of carbon dioxide from sensors of your combelts, even though there's a generous supply of oxygen, I wouldn't stay any longer than you need to."  
  
"No problems so far Doug, and you're coming in loud and clear." Sam said, "We'll keep you informed ok?" he turned to Rahne, "Think you can sniff out of those uglies furtop?"  
  
Rahne nodded, "Aye, I'll do my best Sam." She said, and the shifted into her wolf form, sniffing the ground. Once she found the scent she gave a low bark, indicating for the others to follow her.  
  
The team ran, until Rahne came to a stop. "What's up Rahne?" Roberto asked. "You lose the scent?"  
  
A low growl was her reply, while James perked up. "I don't think we're alone guys," he said, "I got enchanced senses myself, and I've been having the uneasy feeling that we've been followed.  
  
Doug voice cracked aloud over the comspeaker. "Guys watch out! Something coming!", but his warning came to late, as suddenly a giant demon jumped down behind them from the high shadows, knocking James out in a single blow!  
  
The demon was large, easily dwarfing the Beast at full height, his purple hide extremely muscular. "Sy'm always likes it when intruders come into Lord Belasco's realm! Because Sy'm gets the fun of kicking their hides back to where they came from!" he said, giving a low chuckle, while cracking his stone sized knuckles.  
  
"What makes you think we're gonna let you?!" Roberto said as he charged up into his sunspot form. "Time to kiss the pavement ugly!" with that he quickly ran at the giant demo.  
  
"Roberto, NO!" Sam yelled but it was too late, Roberto tried to attack the demon, but was swatted away easily. He flew into a nearby rock formation, with a sickening crash, and fell to the ground, unconscious.  
  
"Something tells me that solo fighting isn't going to get us anywhere." Amara said, "So we need to hit all at once and hard!" she quickly powered up, and summoned a lava flow, aiming it at the demon called S'ym, who, despite his size, quickly dodged out of the way, grabbing Dani tossing her straight into Amara, the collision taking the two girls out of the fight.  
  
Sam quickly flew into Sy'm, his blast shield protecting him from the impact, and staggering the beast, and Rahne quickly followed up on the attack. She had shifted into her werewolf form and tore into Sy'm clawing and biting at his throat. The demon fought her off, and knocked her out with a blow to the skull.  
  
Sam looked towards Illyana for help, but the girls seemed scared out of her mind. *Looks like Ah'm the only one left then." Sam thought to himself. *and mah best only staggers this guy! But what else can Ah do?* He blasted off once more, and slammed straight into Sy'm's gut, pushing his powers as much as he could, driving the demon into a nearby rock wall, until he had to stop from sheer exhaustion. "Outta...gas..." he gasped out as fell to the floor.  
  
"Too bad. S'ym thought you were fun." The demon said mockingly, before kicking him into the wall. He then turned his attention to Illyana. "Now then, be a nice girl and don't resists S'ym, ok?" he said as he approached her. Illyana screamed as his hand came nearer....  
  
******  
  
Meanwhile, back at the hotel, Doug recoiled in pain. The com-link had suddenly, and loudly, turned to static. He quickly tore off the headset that he was using, and uttered a curse in Swahili, which he had picked up from using his powers while watching an international tv station.  
  
"SelffriendDoug, aside from losing radio contact with other selffriends, self cannot get a radar fix on selffriends." Warlock reported.  
  
"Great. That means they're wandering blind." Doug said. " I have a bad feeling about this."  
  
******  
  
Illyana was the last one to awake. She found herself, with the others, in what resembled a Medieval King's court. Everyone was shackled up, bound by chains, that neither James or nor a powered up Sunspot were able to break, Illyana observed. Nearby was the young girl that had been abducted. The person on the throne was a being who actually looked the part of the devil himself, he was humanoid in appearance, but the horns atop his head, as well as the red hue of his skin were evidence of his otherworldly nature, and at his right side, was the large demon, S'ym, that had ambushed them. red demon stood up and spoke.  
  
"Good to see that you all have awoken." He said, " I suppose I should introduce myself. My name is Belasco. I am a demon sorcerer, and lord of this realm, known as Limbo." For a demon, he had a very eloquent voice, and his English was excellent. "It is because of my magicks that I speak you language, as you are no doubt wondering. Where was I? Oh yes, Limbo is my realm, as an odd quirk of fate, this realm is the nexus for teleporters, a way station of you will. For the most part, those who teleport, be it by magickal means or by mutant powers, are usually in and out of here in less than a second, however there are the odd times when a person overstays there welcome, a while ago, a blue furred mutant human and a man with claws were two such visitors. My underlings, the demon dragons, were sent to exterminate them, however they met very heavy resistance, and failed. Although curious, I decided to ignore it, as neither person ever had such a long trip here ever again. Until now. You see my dear girl," he said, pointing at Illyana, " you have a most interesting power. Instead of usually teleporting here in and out so fast we'd barely even notice you, you actually use your "stepping discs" to actually come here! and that you see, is unacceptable for me."  
  
"And why is that?" Dani said, "She means you no harm!"  
  
Belasco walked up to her. "Oh, but she is of great harm, you see, in our ancient lore, it is foretold that a hero shall appear, draw out the mystical Soul Sword, and liberate the realm from a tyrant's grasp. MY grasp, and quite frankly, we just can't have that at all."  
  
"What does that to do with the poor girl? She dinnae have any sword with her!" Rahne cried out, all this talk of demons clashing with her strict catholic upbringing.  
  
"Ah, but you see, as part of the prophecy, the hero is supposed to be an off-worlder, capable of visiting the realm for prolonged visits, precisely as she can!"  
  
"Well, what about the other girl?!" James yelled out, " She didn't have anything to do with this!"  
  
"A minor mistake made by my demon dragons." He said, and then, with a wave of his hand, the restraints holding Illyana in place fell off of her, he then pointed to a sword that was impaled to the floor. "Now then, let's get down to business. Please, go ahead young one, attempt to pull the sword out."  
  
Illyana tentatively stood up and moved towards the sword. "Do not worry my dear, if you do not pull out the sword you and the others may leave." Belasco said, *They will leave, just not leaving alive, and should you fail, I shall just corrupt you into my own demon servant!* he added to himself.  
  
"Boss, you sure this is ok? S'ym has a bad feeling about this." S'ym whispered to Belasco, concern in his voice.  
  
"Do not worry simpleton, I have everything in control." Belasco whispered back.  
  
Once she reached the blade, Illyana hesitantly grabbed a hold of the blade, and with all of her strength, she pulled, and to her surprise she actually pulled the blade out! "Bohze Moi!" she whispered to herself, her eyes wide with wonder, and fear. Suddenly, a light burst forth from the blade, surrounding the New Mutants, the shackles falling off harmlessly. "Did...I...do that?" Illyana whispered.  
  
"Well, my dear, it seems you passed the test." Belasco said, "However, in this case, I am sorry to say that you've failed!" he yelled, mystical energy forming in his hands. Panicked, Illyana created a stepping disc, around herself and her new found friends, teleporting themselves back to Earth.  
  
******  
  
"Alarm! Energy surge!" Warlock cried out, before the entire team plus the abducted girl suddenly appeared in the parking lot of the hotel.  
  
"Guys! What happened?! Why does Illyana have a sword?" Doug yelled, soon however another hole appeared, and out stepped Belasco and S'ym, a horde of demon dragons not far behind. "And who the heck are they?!"  
  
"Long story buddy!" Sam said, "Just take the girl and keep her safe ok, we'll handle these bozos!"  
  
Doug nodded and took the girls hand, and they both quickly ran back up the hotel room, which seemed to Doug to be the safest place to be.  
  
James stepped forward, cracking his knuckles. "Ok, ugly. You owe me a rematch for that bumrush you pulled earlier." He said to S'ym, grimly.  
  
"Sy'm will be glad to accommodate you, weakling!" the demon growled out.  
  
"Well, ok then, we'll handle the dragons." Dani said, "Since James wants to be the testosterone filled man."  
  
"Sigh...men," Amara said, "and here I thought Roberto was the only one who was bullheaded."  
  
"Yeah, that's right I'm the only one who-hey!" Roberto said, indignitly.  
  
"Cut the chatter people, we got a job to do." Sam. He turned to Illyana, "You gonna be ok against Belasco?"  
  
Illyana nodded. "I...will try." She said, leveling the sword. towards Belasco. Prepare yourself demon! she cried out in Russian.  
  
"In the words of your world's youth, Just bring it!" Belasco said, motioning her forward.  
  
******  
  
The fight between James and S'ym was brutal, a slugfest in the simplest form of the word. Both combatants. James staggered S'ym back towards the portal with a few blows.  
  
"I used to know people like you, buddy, getting your kicks beating on people who were smaller than you." James said, "My brother taught me to always stand up against punks like you."  
  
"You don't who you're messing with! S'ym is the destroyer! Families quake before S'ym!" the demon yelled out, before using hit tail to give James a cheap shot, sending the boy over him and closer to the portal. "And when everything else fails, S'ym fights dirty!" he said, giving a low chuckle as he advanced on his fallen prey.  
  
******  
  
The main group was faring much better, as Belasco's Demon Dragons weren't much of a challenge aside from their large numbers. Dani's power inparticular was having an easy time of it, simply creating a giant, angry Belasco, the monster's deepest fear, sending them running back to the portal in terror.  
  
Meanwhile, Roberto was finishing off the last of them, when his powers finally ran out. "Rats! I ran out of juice!" He cursed, his distraction costing him as one of the dragons snuck up on him. "Madonna!" he cried out, before the beast was felled by several bricks. Confused, Roberto looked up, seeing a smiling Doug, bricks in hand.  
  
"Who says I'm no use in battle?" he called down to Roberto.  
  
******  
  
The duel between Illyana and Belasco was turning into a stalemate, whenever it seemed Illyana had the upper-hand, Belasco quickly used a trick to aid himself, and when Illyana was in trouble she quickly used a stepping disc to teleport herself out of danger. Illyana finally managed to find an opening to use the sword, when she feinting left into a portal and reappeared behind Belasco, who caught unaware. She swung the blade as hard as she could, but to her surprise, the blade shattered against Belasco's neck!  
  
"No....." she whispered to herself, her confidence, just like her sword, completely shattered.  
  
"Well, well, it appears the vaunted hero's blade isn't quite the threat I always believed it to be!" Belasco said, amused. "Since I don't think a mere sword handle can aid you now little one!" He then slowly made his way towards her, charging his energies into one final blast meant to annihilate her.  
  
******  
  
Meanwhile, James teetered on the edge of not just the portal's opening, but consciousness as well. He groaned as Sy'm approached.  
  
"Too bad pup, you weren't half bad, but S'ym's just that much better." The creature said, "But you did do a whole lot better than the people S'ym terrorizes in Belasco's name."  
  
"You hurt, kids?" James, gasped out.  
  
"Of course, they're the funnest of all." S'ym said, an ear to ear grin on his face.  
  
"Monster..." James said, through gritted teeth. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw through the portal, due to Belasco's lack on concentration, it had shifted to a small village, it's people, demons themselves, had been watching the fight, they had seen someone stand against the unbeatable S'ym. They were inspired.  
  
"Don't give up Offworlder!"  
  
"You can do it!"  
  
"Fight on!"  
  
they yelled, and through their encouragement, James felt the power to fight on.  
  
"You're open." He said, in a low tone of voice.  
  
"What?" S'ym replied.  
  
"This!" James yelled out, delivering a thunderous blow to the demons gut, then several more to S'ym head. "You like to hurt because they're weak, right?" James said as he continued his assault. "Well, let's see how you like being on the receiving end!" With that he grabbed S'ym and through him into the portal, where he landed with a loud crash right into the middle of the village.  
  
"Strong....too...strong..." S'ym managed to croak out before he realized that he was surrounded by villagers who had lived under oppression for far too long, and that he didn't have the strength to fight back.  
  
Soon, his screams filled the air, as James stoically walked away from the portal.  
  
******  
  
Illyana was frozen in fear, paralyzed, as Belasco closed in. *Piotr, how I wish you were hear to protect me...* she thought, and her mind wandered to her last memories before her brother left: He had taken her up in his arms, as he had done since she was young, he told her that he would always protect her, and even though he would be gone, in spirit, he would always watch over her.....  
  
"Now DIE!" Belasco yelled, as he sent a huge beam of magickal energy at Illyana, who reacted by holding up the shattered sword hilt. "No!" she cried out, and suddenly a blade of light appeared from the sword, disrupting Belasco's attack.  
  
"I-Impossible!" Belasco said, recoiling in shock. " It cannot be!"  
  
You're reign ends now!' Illyana yelled out in Russian, and ran swung the blade, cutting through Belasco, who clutched his stomach and doubled over in pain.  
  
"No.....NO! NOOOOOooooo!" he cried out as he slowly dissipated into nothingness.  
  
Illyana lowered the blade. Finally....it's over.  
  
******  
  
The team reconvened in the girl's hotel room, tired from the battle and lack of sleep. The fact that it was almost sunrise didn't help matters.  
  
"I'm tired, I ache, and my uniform is trashed." Roberto said. "Wake me up next week!"  
  
"Ach, I dinnae believe the sites I've seen tonight!" Rahne exclaimed, "It's almost too much to believe!"  
  
"Well, believe it furtop." Sam said, yawning. "C'mon guys, we better head back to our room, we need the rest, and besides, Ah think we've earned it."  
  
Before anyone could get up though, a knock was heard on the door.  
  
"Not again..." Amara said, "If it's another girl asking us to help look for her brother, I'll torch her!" Illyana looked nervous at that remark.  
  
Doug went and opened the door, to see the girl they had rescued was standing outside.  
  
"I will be quick, but to show you all his gratitude, my father would like to see you at his shop tomorrow afternoon." With that, she handed Doug a card, and then turned and left.  
  
"Mackenzie's Tailor's" Doug read aloud. "Wonder what we'll get? Some expensive suits?"  
  
******  
  
The next day, still tired, but feeling better, the team arrived at the tailor shop, after picking up their van from the repair shop. They were greeted by the man and his daughter.  
  
"Thank you all so much. I know mutants are not accepted very well these days, but you are all ok in my book!" he said. "I realize you must be some sort of hero team, like the Avengers or the Fantastic Four, so, I was wondering if I could create some uniforms for you?"  
  
Everyone looked at each other and shrugged. "Sounds good to us Mr. Mackenzie." Dani said, speaking for the group.  
  
And so, one by one, each of them had a turn at helping the tailor with their own unique uniform. James chose to go simple, red pants with blue trimmings, and red boots. His reasons for not needing a shirt was that it would "Just get torn up in battle anyway."  
  
Amara chose a red and black body suit, the boots and gloves were also black/ "Feminine, yet practical.", she said as she displayed it.  
  
Rahne chose a gold shirt with a blue trim, with blue shorts, and her gloves and boots were gold as well. While Doug chose a more masculine version of the same outfit, colors and everything, except instead of shorts, he had pants.  
  
Roberto chose a blue and red bodysuit, but felt something was missing, so he cut out two eyeholes from a red bandanna. and used it as a mask. "Stylish, just like Zorro!" he added, upon trying it on.  
  
Illyana chose a black bodysuit, with a white tunic over it. She also had a belt, where the hilt of her Soul Sword rested. Her boots and gloves were also white, and to finish the look, she chose a small pink facemask, and a white cloak with a hood.  
  
Dani chose a more complicated outfit. Her pants and gloves were blue, while her shirt was gold, with a red trim. Her boots were also red, and to finish things, she wore a red bandanna to keep her hair out of her eyes.  
  
Finally, Sam had blue pants with a gold trim, and brown boots and gloves. He also had a white shirt, which was worn under a blue jacket, which also had gold trimming, that he wore zipped up.  
  
"You all look very nice. And don't worry, the uniforms are free of charge." The tailor said, upon seeing them all together in uniform. "But I never got your names, and where will you go to next?"  
  
"Well, sir, we'd rather not use our real names, but we have codenames we use in battle." Sam said. "Cannonball."  
  
"Wolfsbane."  
  
"Sunspot."  
  
"Magma."  
  
"Warpath."  
  
"Cypher."  
  
"Mirage."  
  
Illyana was the last to answer, but she finally added, "Magik."  
  
"and as for where we're going sir, we're going where people need our help." Sam said, "The man who taught most of us had a dream, peaceful coexistence between humans and mutants, and it was a good dream, but sometimes, he didn't act quickly enough to get the job done, and that's what we're doing, because in this day and age, if we don't do it, who will?"  
  
End of Seventh Chapter.  
  
Authors Notes: Sorry for the delay on this one, everyone. Blame it on school and a bad case of writer's block. As for the story, well I sort of reworked and evolution-ized Illyana's origin (not to mention Limbo and it's inhabitants), though those familiar with comic Magik, I will still have her used a few limbo demons for use in battle like she used to! Also, this will be the team's stable roster, 4 boys and 4 girls. Sorry, no plans for Karma or a non-computer program Warlock for now. The team's costumes are pretty much entirely comic based, Sam's, Roberto's, and James's are all based off of the uniforms they wore in X-Force, from issues #19-43. Dani's is based off of the costume she wore in X-Force #43, as is Magma's costume, which is a reworked outfit that the character called Locus wore in the same issue. As for Illyana, her outfit is based from her New Mutants "graduation" uniform, as seen in Uncanny X-men annual #10. Rahne's is the reworked outfit she wore in during her stay as a member of both X-Factor and Excalibur, while Doug's is just a recolored version of his New Mutants uniform from the comics.  
  
Looking to the future, next chapter will be one big fight scene, really (more on that later though.), while coming up we have a two-parter on Muir Island, involving the mysterious mutant called Legion! And after that, it's the return of the Hellions!  
  
Next Chapter: Guest stars galore! After seeing the (biased) news footage of what happened at the Towering Inferno festival, Professor X sends the X-men to go get the New Mutants and bring them back home, but our heroes aren't going to give up their independence without a fight! Don't miss the "Fallout!" 


	8. Fallout!

The New Mutants  
  
By: Joey  
  
Disclaimer: Sorry, I don't own these characters, Marvel Comics and I believe KidsWB! (or at least they do for the Evo version) does, and I'm only using the characters for entertainment only, no harm meant.  
  
will be used for Doug/Cypher's language translations.  
  
Chapter 8  
  
"Fallout!"  
  
Previously: In the middle of the night, the team meets a young Russian girl named Illyana Rasputin, and soon they were brought into an adventure in Limbo the magical demon realm where teleporters use as a waystation. With the team's help Illyana freed the realm from the tyranny of Belasco and his henchdemon S'ym. Now, the team is back on the road, with Illyana joining them as Magik!  
  
******  
  
A few days after the Towering Festival, footage of the event and mutant battle that took place in it was finally leaked to the media.  
  
The Xavier Institute Gifted Youngster, Bayville, New York.  
  
"....And so, as you can clearly see from this video footage, the raucous festival was interrupted by a battle between two mutant groups, as well as the blatant destruction of the Tower Structure itself, though this reporter does feel it should be noted that the structure was planned to have been destroyed later on in the festival, it is this reporter's opinion that the mutants seemingly disregard for the safety of non-mutants that is completely unacceptable. This has been a special report by Manoli Wetherall, for Channel 11 news, now back to Trish Tilby in the studio."  
  
The television was shut off, and all was quiet in the study of Professor Charles Xavier. "Sam....why? I trusted you and the others..." he quietly said to himself. He then sent a mental note to his youngest student, Jamie Madrox, who soon walked into the room.  
  
"Um, What do you need me to do sir?" Jamie asked.  
  
"I want you to go find the other students and tell them to go and meet me in the Ready Room, all right?" He told the young boy, who gave a quick nod.  
  
"Yes sir!" Jamie said, and quickly made several copies of himself, each copy went in a separate direction in order to find his fellow school mates.  
  
Xavier wheeled himself out of the room, his mind contemplating what must be done. *I am sorry Samuel.*  
  
******  
  
Once everyone had assembled in full uniform, Xavier spoke.  
  
"Thank you all for coming," he said, "this will be very difficult for me to tell you, but your next mission is going to be very personal, you see....you all are going to go up against your former friends."  
  
"What do you mean Professor?" Scott asked, confused, though he was beginning to understand what the Professor meant.  
  
"I believe this may explain things." Xavier replied, turning on a monitor and showing the group the evening's telecast. "Obviously, it is rather biased against mutants, however the truth of the matter is, is that they acted too rashly, and that innocent people could have gotten hurt. Therefore, I am sending you in to retrieve them, and bring them back."  
  
"But Professor, are you sure we can even find them?" Kitty asked.  
  
Kurt nodded in agreement, "Ja, they could anywhere now!"  
  
Xavier nodded. " I took the time to use cerebro, and I have found their location, and programmed it, and their signature into the X-jet." he replied, "Now, as for mission itself, Scott, you will be in charge, as you are the most qualified, and Logan, Ororo, and Hank are taking care of some business on my behalf."  
  
Scott gave a quick nod. "Yes sir."  
  
"Good, the rest of you will accompany the regular team, for two reasons. Number one, I do not know exactly how many mutants are with them, and two, with Evan currently visiting his family, our primary team's number's have been slightly depleted. However, the exception will be you Jamie, you will be staying here with me, as you are still too young to go on missions."  
  
"Awe...." the young boy said, disappointment obvious in his voice.  
  
"Now then, I am sorry to tell you that I do not have very much information on mutants who seem to be traveling with them, and so I am sorry to leave you all so uninformed, so I want you all to take caution with this mission, Judging from the footage, it would appear that at least one member has enchanced strength powers, so keep that in mind, although I want fighting to be the last option that you consider, I want you all to be very careful, I do not want any repeats of the Wanda incident." Xavier said, as he keyed some commands into the computer. "Speaking of which, Scott, do not underestimate them, they have come a long way from being your underclassmen, and underestimating them could be as dangerous as you're underestimation of the Brotherhood during the Wanda incident."  
  
Scott visibly blanched at the comments. " I won't sir, you will have my guarantee."  
  
Xavier nodded, saying, "Good. I know that you are all familiar enough with powers of Cannonball, Sunspot, Magma, and Wolfsbane from your various training exercises, that you do not need to be briefed on them, but remember, when it comes to their allies, be prepared for anything, especially the unexpected. I wish I could see you all off, however I have to make a very personal phone-call. I will monitor you with Cerebro, however. Meeting adjourned, good luck and godspeed."  
  
******  
  
After their back track in Colorado, the team was back on the highways. Thanks to Illyana's teleportation powers, they made up for lost time by teleporting from Denver to a Nevada desert, their new destination being San Diego, California. During the trip, the team learned to bond with each other, and becoming better at teamwork as they practiced. They helped Illyana during several return trips to Limbo, where she was hailed as a Queen, though the shy girl had turned down the offers of royalty. Doug even helped her speak better English, using his powers of language translation to help her, though he never noticed the jealous looks that Rahne gave him and Illyana. They had also helped Illyana with the transition of demon trainer, as several younger beasts had become her allies now, they were various creatures, young, but rather strong, especially a purple dragon that was among the young horde, and she even found out that her Soul Word had a different affect of magical beings then it did to those of flesh and blood, while it was deadly to a creature of magic, to a human being it had double purpose, it shocked the target, as they first believed themselves to be cut, until the pain came, where it was estimated that it felt like being clubbed over the head by a large metal baseball bat.  
  
It was sundown now, and the desert was cool and quiet, the team had parked for the night, and had their sleeping bags out, ready to sleep out under the stars. Over their short time together, the team had learned to anticipate almost anything, but they were definitely surprised when a jet flew by overhead and landed right in front of them!  
  
"Geez, that thing's big enough to carry the whole dang van in it's cargo hold!" James exclaimed as he watched the jet land.  
  
"Hey Sam..." Roberto said, eyeing the jet. "I think that's..."  
  
"The X-Jet. Ah know Roberto." Sam said, "Looks like we better get ready for a scrap. Suit up everybody! If the worst comes to worst, Ah got a battle plan that should help us out a lot."  
  
With that, the team dispersed, preparing themselves for the worst.  
  
******  
  
Scott landed the jet perfectly, and shut off the engine. "Ok everybody, remember, we're hear to convince them to peacefully come with us, fighting is a last ditch option, all right?"  
  
The others nodded.  
  
"Scott, I'm getting eight mutant signatures from the portable Cerebro." Jean reported.  
  
"Good, at least now we have an idea of what we're up against." Scott said. "Ok everyone move out!"  
  
The others quickly got out of their seats and followed Scott's lead to the outside, where they were greeted with the site of New Mutants in full uniform.  
  
"Wow, they look like a regular X-Force." Kurt joked, trying to lighten the mood, which he slightly succeeded in, as Bobby and Jubilee stifled some laughter.  
  
"I don't know Kurt, like, they don't really have the look of some crazy mutant powered celebrities that the name seems to come with." Kitty offered back, which caused some more stifled laughter.  
  
"Cut the chatter people." Scott chastised, as they approached the team. "Ok, all of you, The Professor saw your little stunt at the Towering Inferno Festival, and he was very disappointed. We haven't come for a fight, but we're here to take you all back with us."  
  
"And what about those of us not affiliated with your school?" Dani asked, " We've never been a part of you people, where does this leave us?"  
  
Scott crossed his arms. "We were instructed to bring you along with us, the Professor has some questions for you people as well." He responded.  
  
"And if we refuse?" James asked, eyeing the large group in front of him. "Then what?"  
  
"If you won't come peacefully we will use force," Scott said, "and we have firepower to bring you in."  
  
"That may be Scott, but you know we're not the type to give up easily." Sam said, giving Illyana a quick signal. "And we're not going to give up our independence, and views!"  
  
"I'm sorry then Sam, because now we're going to have to-What the?!" Scott's speech was cut short as the entire group seemingly vanished into the ground. Before he could give out any type of order, a yell of "All right everybody, go for it!" rang through the air, as the New Mutants rushed the X-men from behind, using Illyana's unorthodox teleportation powers to their advantage.  
  
******  
  
Sam's battle plan was simple. Use Illyana's teleporting "stepping discs" as a surprise tactic, then each member was to isolate an X-man, cutting off their teamwork abilities. Cannonball and Mirage went after Cyclops and Jean Grey, while Wolfsbane and Cypher fought Nightcrawler and Rogue. Meanwhile, Sunspot and Magma attempted to stop Berzerker and Iceman, and Warpath and Magik went up against Jubilee and Shadowcat.  
  
******  
  
Instead of immediately using their mind powers, Dani and Jean began their fight by exchanging blows, Jean using the self-defense skills she learned from the class they all took from Wolverine, while Dani used the skills she learned from her Grandfather and her time with the team. Eventually however, Jean brought out the bug guns, and began to use her telekinetic powers to her advantage, using them to trip up Dani, or shield herself from an attack, or even use it to fling her opponent around. The assault was doing it's job excellently, as it wasn't giving Dani the proper time to concentrate, thereby using her power of drawing out a person's worst fear and bringing it to life in a 3-d construct to hit Jean with a move that could put her out of the time permanently.  
  
Sam however, was having a fair amount of better luck against Cyclops, as the speed of blasting, combined with his protective blast field allowed him to weather the storm of optic blasts that he was constantly bombarded with, however, because of this, he was unable to find a good opening to strike Scott hard with a rocket-assisted attack, so he was stuck diving and turning, in an attempt to both dodge Scott's dangerous optic blasts, while at the same time shake him off so that he could counterattack.  
  
******  
  
"Ach! Why don't ye stand still and fight me!" Rahne growled out at her opponent, Kurt Wagner, codenamed Nightcrawler.  
  
"Nein, fraulien, I rather enjoy this little game of tag!" Kurt replied, dodging or teleporting away from Rahne's attacks.  
  
The young Scottish girl had given up using her full wolf form, as even though it was more agile than her werewolf form, she needed the extra power boost that her transitional form gave her, not mention hands and feet to assist in her fighting. However, no matter how hard she tried, she was only able to land a few or her attacks, as his teleportation skills allowed Kurt to avoid most of offense.  
  
"Neiner, neiner, neiner!" Kurt teased, as he teleported behind Rahne and gave her a swift boot to her backside, before teleporting away once again.  
  
"Ooohhh, Kurt Wagner, when I get my hands on ye...." Rahne growled, her anger started to boil over from her opponents antics.  
  
Meanwhile, Doug and Rogue were involved in a more traditional fistfight, exchanging blows like two trained boxers.  
  
"Ah have to admit, for a scrawny guy, y'all sure can punch hard." Rogue said, " However, right now, Ah'm putting an end to this!" then, she took off her right glove, exposing her bare hand.  
  
"How exactly is taking a glove off supposed to help you in a fight?" Doug asked, getting in a defensive stance. He knew from what the quick explanation from Sam that Rogue could absorb people's strength and powers from physical contact, however he didn't realize that it was skin to skin contact, and thought that Rogue had simply chosen not to use her powers on him.  
  
That mistake cost him, as he was caught off-guard by a feint from Rogue, giving her the opening she needed.  
  
"Argh!" Doug yelled out in pain, as he felt his strength being sapped from as Rogue's hand met his cheek. He fell down to his hands and knees, seeing Rogue standing over him in the corner of his eye.  
  
*Bad luck Ramsey!* He thought to himself. *Looks like you're in big trouble now!*  
  
******  
  
From the moment they first met, Roberto Da Costa and Ray Crisp didn't like one another. Ray had thought Roberto was too egotistical and vain, while Roberto believed Ray to be nothing more than street rat who got lucky. Now, they were finally able to settle their differences in the way they always wanted to, extremely violently.  
  
Roberto had gotten an early edge, using his solar enchanced strength to knock Berzerker for a loop, however his overconfidence left him open for a devastating counterattack, when Ray unleashed several high-powered lightning bolts from hands, which caused Roberto to double over in pain.  
  
"Not so hot now, huh Sunspot?" Ray taunted, "You don't have your money to flaunt or any of the teacher's to interupt our fight this time. I always knew you were soft deep down."  
  
Roberto struggled to get up, his left hand clutching his forehead, even though the sun's rays could increase his strength, he was still vulnerable to attacks as any regular person. "Why....don't you just shut up...street Rat!" he spat out, hoping to goad Ray into losing his temper and making a mistake.  
  
"You never learn do you Da Costa? I was a Morlock, a member of the toughest streetgang of mutants in New York, you don't talk down to us!" Ray yelled out, sending another massive electric discharge Roberto's way, who screamed out in pain.  
  
Meanwhile, Amara and Bobby had fully powered up, and were sending out streams of pure hot and cold at one another, neither one willing to lose the advantage they needed in order to win, though Amara knew very well that she could summon a volcanic geyser up from the ground, which would help her win, however such an act could damage the tectonic plates, if she weren't careful another, and the lava flow could sverely hurt Iceman, which was something she definetely did not want to do.  
  
******  
  
Jubilation Lee knew that she wouldn't be very successful in a straight up fight with her opponent, the incredibly strong (and rather cute, she observed) James Proudstar, so she used her mutant power of generating firework style plasmoids, almost like sparks in their appearance, a different way. To blind.  
  
James had been flashed several times already, and he was getting sick of it, he got another face full of rainbow light and shot out an Apache curse he'd heard from his older brother Jon once. *Stupid girl! Those lights may not be the strongest thing around, but with her constantly shooting me in the face, I can't see a blasted thing, and that's leaving me open!* he thought to himself as he took a wild swing, and missed by a mile. Jubilee meanwhile, took the opportunity to get in a few punches to his gut before giving him another face full of sparks.  
  
Illyana wasn't faring much better, her opponent could phase herself causing whatever attacks Illyana used to harmlessly go right through, even her Soul Sword wasn't having any affect! *I must think of a plan!* she thought, rolling to dodge a sneak attack by Shadowcat, who had phased through the ground and had come up from behind her, hoping to catch Magik by surprise. *Surprise! That's it!* Illyana thought to herself, and out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Nightcrawler teleporting once more avoid an attack by Wolfsbane. In an instant she created a stepping disc in Limbo, where it awaited Kurt, since her stepping discs were even quicker than Kurt's bamfs.  
  
******  
  
Kurt Wagner had no idea how he ended up where he ended up. He teleported just like normal, however instead of reappearing behind Rahne as he had intended, he flew straight into Jubilee! The collision then started a chain reaction, as he sparks went haywire, flying about into the faces of both Iceman and Shadowcat, stunning the latter into de-phasing, and causing the former accidentally move his Ice-beam under his teammate and best friend Berzerker, causing him to slip up. Now a great majority of the X-men were vulnerable, and the New Mutants didn't waste the chance they had.  
  
Rahne quickly pounced onto Kurt, her claws to strike at the Fuzzy Elf, while Warpath and wound up and punched Jubilee hard, sending her flying back, and giving her a one-way ticket to dreamland. Sunspot, also used his chance to deliver a vicious punch combo to Berzerker, a punch to the gut, followed by a hard uppercut to the head, Ray was out of it before he hit the ground.  
  
Magma quickly sent a blast of heat at Iceman, sending him flying back, while Illyana teleported behind the stunned Shadowcat and whacked her hard with the Soul Sword, knocking Kitty to her knees.  
  
******  
  
Rogue was ready to finish her opponent off, so she drew into the small amount of Doug's powers, and summoned it, however, she wasn't prepared for nothing to happen!  
  
"What's goin' on? Why aren't your powers working?!" Rogue said aloud, confused.  
  
*Alright! Who knew my powers would actually save my butt!* Doug thought, before responding in Latin Do you speak Latin?  
  
Of course I don't speak Latin! Rogue yelled out, annoyed. Then she realized what she just did. I'm speaking Latin! How am I speaking Latin?!  
  
It's pretty simple, actually, Doug replied, My powers is to speak and translate any and all languages, not really useful in battle, really, or at least I thought until now! With that he used capitalized on Rogue's confusion by delivering a solid punch to her jaw, sending her down.  
  
******  
  
Seeing that the others were doing a lot better, and the method of how they did it, Sam formulated a plan. Quickly he made a dive towards Dani, which Scott thought gave him an opportunity to hit two birds with one stone, however at the last second, he grabbed Dani and pulled up, Scott's optic blast sent Jean flying back.  
  
"Jean!" Scott called out, quickly running to her aid. "I'm so sorry!"  
  
"Not now Scott, we can talk about your aim later, we're still in trouble!" Jean replied, using him as leverage to stand back up.  
  
"Ok, Mirage, here's your chance!" Sam said as he set Dani back down. "Give her your specialty!"  
  
"Right, Cannonball." Dani responded, and began to concentrate. "Let's see what you're afraid of red."  
  
******  
  
At first Jean, didn't know what was happening, there were no signs of anyone around here. She called out for Scott and the others, getting worried. Then she saw the bodies.  
  
Laying on the ground, were the New Mutants, and beside them were her teammates, her teachers, friends, and family. Even the Brotherhood was there!  
  
"W-What's going on?!" she said, getting scared. Then she felt herself bump into something. She quickly turned around to see Scott, looking incredibly hurt. "Scott! Oh my God! What happened?!"  
  
"You happened Jean," was the reply, "you're powers went out of control, just like they did before, but this time, there was no stopping you. We all tried to help you, and we all paid the price. Why Jean, why?"  
  
"No....No! This can't be happening!" Jean cried out, tears streaming down her face. "NO!!!!!!"  
  
******  
  
In reality, Jean was on her hands and knees, crying, power radiating off of her. Her worst fear was being broadcast to her, and everyone else to see, even if she didn't realize it.  
  
"Jean? Jean, what's going on?!" Scott said, worried. He didn't like seeing some weird zombie version of himself.  
  
"Now you're mine, leader boy." Sam said, and quickly blasted off, hitting Scott hard with a rocket assisted tackle before flying back after releasing his target.  
  
"Regroup!" Scott called out as he got back up. Quickly, Kurt, Rogue, Kitty and Bobby ran to his side, the other members either knocked out cold, or in Jean's case, incapacitated.  
  
"Oh man, this doesn't look good." Bobby said, a worried look on his face.  
  
"Like, Scott, we could really use some brilliant plan right now!" Kitty added.  
  
However before the battle could continue any further, a solid voice rang out in everyone's mind. "STOP!"  
  
Everyone turned to the source of the intrusion, and they were all shocked to see Professor Xavier, before them, a smaller stealth jet nearby, with Jamie Madrox visible in the copilot's seat.  
  
"No more." Xavier simply stated. The look in his eyes was calm, yet full of authority.  
  
Sam stepped up. "Look sir, if all this is about what happened at the festival, well Ah can explain, hut we are not coming back to Bayville." he said, courage evident in his voice.  
  
"That, and other explanations can be saved for later." Xavier replied, " I've come here on a different mission than that of what I sent the X-men on, after hearing a disturbing piece of news."  
  
"And what would that be, sir?" Sam asked, curious, but guarded.  
  
"I've come asking your help." Xavier said. "My son is in peril."  
  
End of Eighth chapter.  
  
Author's note: Not surprisingly, this was a pretty easy chapter to write down, since it was for the most part, one big fight scene. Next up, will be a two part adventure on Muir Island! I originally intended the revelation of Xavier's son to be in the next chapter, but I think works a little better how it is here (Not to mention of my reviewers sort of gave away the surprise anyway). Also, for those who are curious, Jean's fear is her powers going out of control, like in "Power Surge" but in a much more deadlier manner.  
  
At anyrate, I put in a few comic references in this chapter, if you have a keen eye, you might be able to spot them!  
  
Remember folks, C&C is always appreciated!  
  
Next Chapter: Part one of the Legion saga! What mysteries will be found when the New Mutants and the Uncanny X-men team up on Muir Island, and what is trouble with the young David Haller, the son of Professor X? All this plus some of the backstory to everyone's favorite Scottish werewolf, Rahne Sinclair! 


	9. Legion, Part 1

The New Mutants  
  
By: Joey  
  
Disclaimer: Sorry, I don't own these characters, Marvel Comics and I believe KidsWB! (or at least they do for the Evo version) does, and I'm only using the characters for entertainment only, no harm meant.  
  
will be used for Doug/Cypher's language translations and regular language translations as well.  
  
Chapter 9  
  
"Legion- Part 1"  
  
Previously: After watching an anti-mutant news report detailing the fight between the New Mutants and Hellions at the Towering Inferno Festival, Professor X sent the X-men (the main team, minus Evan, plus the other New Recruits except Jamie) to bring the New Mutants back to Bayville. When the team refused to go back with the X-men, a fight erupted, but it was eventually halted by Professor Xavier himself, who has asked the team for help with his son!  
  
******  
  
Prologue  
  
Muir Isle. A lonely, elemental, wildly beautiful slab of rock jutting of the Atlantic, just off of Cape Wrath, the northernmost tip of Scotland. Strange as it seems to outsiders, people live here. On this isle, is the McTaggert Institute, a research center like no other. While it does perform scientific research on diseases, scientific principles, and other endeavors, secretly, it is also a place for the troubled of mutantkind, those who's powers are too out of control, those who need help that not even Charles Xavier himself can provide.  
  
Two people sit together in one of the Institute's rooms, enjoying a late tea together. Henry McCoy and Ororo Monroe are instructor's at Charles Xavier's school for the gifted, they are mutants, McCoy, dubbed The Beast, has animal like features, and enchanced strength, but is also a medical doctor, a former school teacher, and a genius, while Ororo, called Storm, can control the elements. As odd a notion as it sounds, over the relatively short time they have known each other (though they were both part of Xavier's original X-Men, along with Logan and the dark-hearted Emma Frost, Henry hadn't stayed long enough for them to get to know each other), the two have struck a strong friendship, even when Henry and some of the students had to be rescued from a government prison.  
  
"Well, I certainly never expected to visit Scotland over these circumstances 'Ro," McCoy said, pouring himself another cup. "But something like this, with the Professor's son, it's important, I guess sightseeing can wait, though I guess Logan had other ideas."  
  
"Logan has always valued his privacy Henry." Ororo said, taking a sip of her tea. "Which is why he rode off to be on his own. And it's better than keeping him cooped up in a lab all day."  
  
The two shared a laugh, but were soon interrupted by a ghostly image!  
  
"Ororo, am I seeing things?!" Henry said, surprised.  
  
"It's some sort of astral form, I've seen Professor Xavier use such a thing before, who ever is doing it must be some sort of telepath as well!" Storm replied, trying to formulate some sort of strategy "Is he sending images in your head as well?"  
  
"Yes, I believe he's trying to contact us," Henry said, watching the ghostly figure, which looked like an Arabian teenager. "but I can't figure out what he's saying, I never learned Arabic!"  
  
Suddenly, the figure screamed out, and vanished, however before the two had time to relax, or even try and piece together what was going on, alarms began to ring out!  
  
"The Alarm!" Henry yelled out. " It's coming from David's room!"  
  
Quickly, they ran to the room, only to find it sealed.  
  
"It must be some sort of security measure!" Ororo said, frustrated.  
  
"Allow me, madam." Henry said, before gripping the door and ripping it off it's hinges. "Ladies first." He added, giving her a polite bow.  
  
They ran into David's room, and were shocked to see the boy, a tall and Lanky youth with long black spiked hair, crying as he floating in the air.  
  
"HELP ME!" he cried out. " Poppa, Momma, I'm HURTING...somebody, anybody, help me, save me, please, Please, PLEASE!"  
  
Before the two of them had anytime to react however, the room started to come alive with objects flying everywhere, especially at them!  
  
"Ororo! Hit the deck!" Henry yelled as shielded her with his body, he was more durable, and could withstand this assault anyway, she could not. " I thought the boy was only supposed to have telepathic powers!"  
  
"Apparently he must have some telekinesis as well!" Ororo said, wincing as a cup flew past her. "It's almost like a poltergeist!"  
  
"We have to get out of-argh!" Henry cried out as he was struck in the head by a flower pot. "The objects, there's herding us away from the door, we have no choice but to go deeper in!"  
  
"Do you know any good catechism's Beast? I think we're going to need it!" Ororo yelled out, her voice having to rise above David's Banshee like screams and howls.  
  
"It's not the poor boys fault though, I don't think he knows what he's doing!" Henry said, " I don't think he knows how to control his powers!"  
  
"If only we had some medical supplies to sedate him!" Ororo yelled out.  
  
Suddenly, the onslaught of object's lessened.  
  
"Finally, maybe he's-Oh my!" Henry exclaimed, "His hands! They're burning!".  
  
Then, the boy started laughing, however instead of a laugh of a young man, it was a laugh of a teenage girl, and the boy's face had twisted itself into an almost demonic smile.  
  
"Beast! We have to do some-" Storm tried to say, but was cut off, as everything around her exploded.  
  
End prologue.  
  
******  
  
The Morning of the following day...  
  
An Ebony aircraft streaks out of the still-dark western sky to a landing on Muir Isle. It's a one of a kind, custom built version of one of America's SR-TI Blackbird ultra high-performance spyplane. It belongs to the man who was once very much in love with Dr. Moira McTaggert, who stands alone, watching as the plane lands. Years ago, when she walked out on Charles Xavier's life without explanation, she broke his heart, hurting him as badly as a person could.  
  
Today she fears she will do far worse.  
  
As the plane lands, she spies Xavier being wheeled out by one of his students, a brown-haired by with dark-red sunglasses, she knows his name of Scott Summers, and the glasses are protecting everyone from his uncontrollable power of firing rays from his eyes. He is followed a large group of other teens, who she recognizes from the notes that Charles had sent to her. Jean Grey, a young girl gifted with the powers of telekinesis and telepathy. Kitty Pryde, capable of turning her body intangible, like a ghost, Kurt Wagner, his image inducer watchband turned off, revealing a demonic form that betrays the soulful boy within, and the girl known only as Rogue, capable of sapping a person's energy, powers, and memories, with skin to skin touch. Following them are another group of children, she is familiar with most, but not all of them, she recognizes Sam Guthrie, a Kentuckian who is capable of "blasting" firing off energy enabling him flight with a protective shield, Roberto Da Costa, a Brazilian youth from a rich family, he can store the sun's solar rays and turn it into enchanced strength, Amara Aquilla, capable of controlling magma and molten rock (though she is not skilled at it), and firing off blasts of intense heat, and last, but not least (though the young girl herself would sometimes believe so) is Rahne Sinclair, who has the power of lycanthropy, enabling her to turn into both a werewolf and a regular wolf. She is also Moira's foster-daughter. The others, she does not recognize, but presumes them to be mutants. She actually expected more people to be with Charles, however he had called and told her that he had to make a quick stop at the rebuilt Xavier Institute in Bayville first, so she presumes he must have dropped a few of them off.  
  
"It's kind of cold, Rahney." Dani said, bundling herself together to keep warm.  
  
Rahne didn't seem to mind however, she was overjoyed. "I love it! Oh, smell the sea air, everyone, an' the heather, ah, I'm Home!" the girls eyes light up even more upon seeing her foster mother, Moira.  
  
"Lady...Moira?" she says, her tone going from jubilant to disappointed, as before she can leap into her foster mother's arms, Moira is already embroiled in a conversation with Professor Xavier. Soon, old insecurities creep back into the girl's thoughts.  
  
*She's forgotten me..an' why not? I'm nothing special, not compared to her old friend the Professor,* she tries to shake away the thoughts, mentally berating herself. *Stop this, crybaby! You're na' alone anymore, you've got the truest of friends in Doug an' the others...and I know all that, I KNOW I shouldn't be jealous, it's wrong and wicked...but friends aren't the same as a mother. I never had one, til'-* her thoughts are cut short as she feels hands wrap around her, soft, and compassionate, with a small scent of coffee and perfume. "Lady Moira!?!" Rahne cries out in surprise and shock.  
  
"Now what kind of greeting is that?" Moira asks the young girl, as she turns her around. "Did you think I'd forgotten you poppet? Don't be a wee silly, Charles is a dear old friend, but you're my daughter, as much as if you were my own flesh an' blood."  
  
The two continue their reunion for a few minutes more before Charles communicates to Moira via telepathy *Moira, is it all right if I talk with you like this?* he asks her.  
  
*Of course Charles.* Moira replies, as she let's go of Rahne, but still keeps her close.  
  
*I'm surprised you're fiancee is not here to greet us.* Xavier psispoke to her, *What was his name again?*  
  
*Sean. Sean Cassidy. He's off being a chaperone for his daughter Theresa's school field trip, otherwise they'd both be with me to greet you all.* She told him. *and pardon me for asking, but are you all right Charles? You don't look well.*  
  
*I am tired Moira, being locked up in an asylum without my powers can do that to a man. If the odd combination of my students and a rival faction known as the Brotherhood had not rescued me, I would still be there. Plus with you're phone call regarding an emergency with David...* he tells her.  
  
*I'm sorry Charles, I didn't know. But aye, it has been a rude week with David. Follow me back to the center, and I'll explain.* she told him. She then called out to the students. " Follow me, everyone! The place is nae far!"  
  
With that, the two groups of teens followed the two adults.  
  
******  
  
It was later in the afternoon when Moira finally took Charles to down to the patient area. The X-Men and the New Mutants had gone to town shop, and check the sights before the real work for them was to begin, Both of the adults walked down into the infirmary, where Beast and Storm were lying on two hospital beds.  
  
"Please Moira, tell me again what happened. In as great a detail as you can." Xavier said as he wheeled over to them both, checking their pulses.  
  
"Aye, I'll tell you as much as I know." Moira said, " The other night, alarms went off Beast and Storm were down here, since they were the closest to David, they investigated, when an explosion went off, leveling the entire room."  
  
"I can still feel a pulse Moira, Henry and Ororo are still alive, though it is a faint pulse.." Xavier replied as he examined them.  
  
"Aye, physically, not even a scratch on either of them, My assistants and I found them in this catatonic state, bodies unharmed, but their minds completely gone," Moira said, "and the evidence is pointing to David as the attacker."  
  
"Moira, that's impossible." Xavier replied. "You know my son, you've been treated him for the past ten years, ever since his mother died."  
  
"Aye, I know Charles. The boy has been autistic since he was eight, and the added schizophrenia that's been keeping him withdrawn from everything is so deep that almost everything I've tried has little to no effect on him. I'm afraid it truly is up to you Charles, to get to the bottom of all this."  
  
"I shall try Moira, I'll do my best." He answered, his hands moving towards his chin as became lost in thought.  
  
******  
  
Meanwhile, in Ullapool, on the West coast of Scotland, no more than an a half hour's boat ride to and from Muir, the X-Men, along with their instructor, Wolverine, are checking in the sights.  
  
"I still don't understand why we need a chaperone and the others don't." Kurt complained. He was wearing his image inducer now, and was wrapped in a coat, even with fur he was still freezing in this place!  
  
"Because, elf, " Logan replied, "they're on their own now, I ain't their teacher no more, so they can go off and do what they want, just as long as they're careful about it."  
  
"Ja, I know, but it still doesn't seem fair." Kurt moaned, wondering why those kids seemed to get the breaks so easy.  
  
Soon a groan was heard from Rogue. "Great, the lovebirds are at it again," she said, as Scott and Jean were off kissing near store window. "Why can't they do that in private, anyway?" she was still nursing away her crush on Scott, as it was now pretty much over, he and Jean had gotten very close during the rescue of the captured mutants and the Professor, and Rogue knew she had better go looking for a new love interest, and it didn't help that Risty, her emotional outlet, and suddenly disappeared.  
  
"Oh, let'em be Rogue, like, they've had this coming for a long time." Kitty said, though there was a slight amount of jealousy in her eyes. The relationship between Lance and herself had hit a few snags as of late, and even though Lance, Todd, and Wanda had proclaimed there innocence concerning Mystique's plans, Kitty still had a very hard time trusting Lance again, even when he took a stun bolt for her from a prison security guard! The Brotherhood had helped them liberate Evan, Rogue, Beast, Wolverine, and Fred, which had smoothed things over a bit, as even cutting all ties to Mystique hadn't helped earlier. Now they were just Lance, Todd, Freddy, and Wanda, though Tabitha had elected to stay with them, as did two teenage mutants named Rusty, who has the powers of line-of-sight fire creation and fire blasts and Skids, with the power of creating a protective shield around herself and others, who had also been freed from the prison. Oddly enough, while the X-men were treated rather badly at school, because of their more popular status, they were still treated better than the Brotherhood, since they were already outsiders to begin with, they were treated worse, they were almost likes exiles now, or fallen angels.  
  
Kitty shook those thoughts away for now, she had plenty of time to brood about Lance and their Romeo and Juliet relationship later, right now, she had some sight-seeing and shopping to do!  
  
******  
  
At the same moment, the New Mutants were at the town's dock, exploring, and taking pictures of the scenery.  
  
"How many pictures are you going to take Doug?" Amara asked, as Doug snapped another photo. He had been almost nonstop with camera since they got there.  
  
"As many as I can Amara, as many as I can." He replied with a grin, before snapping another photo.  
  
Soon, they're fun was interrupted however, as tall man with a dark beard, and hardened expression walked up to them. He had a priest's collar on, and had a few people with him.  
  
"Rahne Sinclair!" he shouted out, pointing at the now frightened young girl. "By what right d'you profane God's land by your unholy presence?!"  
  
"R-Reverend Craig..." Rahne squeaked out, terror evident in her voice.  
  
"That's the man who raised you, mi amiga?" Roberto asked, eyes wide in surprise.  
  
"Leave this place, ye dinna belong here, among TRUE people." The reverend continued on.  
  
Doug has seen enough however, " Lay off mister! We're minding our own business, why don't you do the same?!" he yelled out.  
  
"Hold yuir tongue!" was Craig's reply, "Yon brat is the spawn of Satan! And any who consort with her are as a damned and doomed as she!"  
  
At that remark, Doug looked about ready to jump and attack the man, if James hadn't held him down.  
  
"Don't argue Doug, please." Rahne said, nearly in tears. "Let's just go..."  
  
and so they did, leaving the Reverend to rant on.  
  
Once they were a far distance away, Sam turned to Rahne and asked, "What's up with that guy furtop? You once told us that he was the man that raised you, right?"  
  
"Aye, aye he is, Sam." Rahne said, wiping away some tears. " I dinnae know who my real mother and father are, I was an orphan who was raised by the Reverend, he brought me up strictly Christian, engraving God's word into me...But.. when I first got my powers...he...he..."  
  
"What happened Rahne?" James asked, "What did he do?"  
  
"He...he called me the spawn of the devil, and ye can imagine how that made me feel, with all that he taught me, and...he tried to hunt me down and...if it weren't for Lady Moira..."  
  
"That's enough Rahne. You don't have to tell us anymore." Dani said, wrapping her arms around Rahne. "It's going to be ok."  
  
The others nodded as they came to hug and console Rahne, as the young girl continued to sob.  
  
******  
  
While all this was going in, Professor Xavier was exploring the astral plane, a place only accessible to psychics, or those assisted by psychics.  
  
*My spirit self may have reached the astral plane, but the path to David's mind has been blocked by a psiwall.* he psispoke to himself as he checked his newfound obstacle for clues.*It protects his consciousness from a world too terrible for him to bear.*  
  
He continued exploring, trying to find some way to break through. Slowly, however, the all began to shape part of itself into a new shape.  
  
*What?! A face...forming into the wall as if each brick was individually pushed through from the other side....his features are Arabic...psispeech! He's a telapath, trying to comunicate!*  
  
However before Xavier can explore further, or try and make contact, flames burst from the face without warning, knocking him back into the real world!  
  
*Good-* "-Lord!" he cried out as he was flung back into his body, and that body crashing out of his chair and into Dr. Mactaggert! Soon, the room is filled with maniacal laughter from David, which ends almost abruptly, as the boy is quiet once again.  
  
"There was triumph in that voice...* Moira groaned as she began to sit up.  
  
"Yes and no." Xavier said as shook his head to try and clear the proverbial cobwebs. " The thoughts directing David's actions seem somehow alien...as if there's a portion of his mind that isn't him."  
  
"You think it's a side-affect of the schizophrenia, Charles?" Moira asked, assisting him back into his wheelchair.  
  
"I believe so." Xavier replied. "But I need some time to think of what to do next, please, give me some time alone.  
  
"Aright Charles, just call me when you're ready." Moira said.  
  
******  
  
Later that night....  
  
The events of earlier in the day still bother young Rahne Sinclair, so she quietly creeps out of the room she shares with her teammate Dani Moonstar, and open up the window. *Brrr...It's bitter cold, I'll need to use my wolf form.* she thinks to herself as she jumps out of the window, which is thankfully only a story tall, so she does not have to worry about getting hurt.  
  
She lands in her werewolf transitional form, which combines the best attributes of both species. Soon she starts into a sprint, and shifts to a full wolf, and dashes towards Moira's lab. As she runs, the world around her becomes a magical place, a fantastic kaleidoscope of light and sound and color that is totally hidden from her human form. The Beauty leaves her breathless, the strength and grace of her lupine body make her giddy. But this is why Reverend Craig curses her, and once tried to kill her, she's a werewolf. At one time she believed in him and the version of the word of God he taught her since she was born, and part of her still does. Yet she feels so right and natural and wonderful in her furform, how can that be evil? And if she isn't evil, what does this say for the man who raised and his teachings? At times, the harder she seeks her answers, the more confused she becomes.  
  
Her reflection is caught in the mirror near Moira, who turns to greet her.  
  
"Rahne, what're you doing here, poppet, so late at night?" Moira asks her foster daughter.  
  
Rahne is at a loss for words to explain herself, so Moira simply gestures for her to come over.  
  
"I feel so silly, botherin' you while you're workin' to save that poor boy." Rahne explained as she hugged Moira.  
  
"Don't be daft, child. David's my patient, he's important to me, but you're my daughter! An' I'll keep tellin' you that 'til you believe me. You an' Sean share my heart, I'll always have time for you, an' be at least a little hurt when it's not to me that you turn to when you're troubled." Moira said as she brought Rahne face to face with her.  
  
"I love you Lady M- I love you mummy." Rahne said, warmth in her voice.  
  
"An' I...you?!" Moira said, surprised when Rahne shifted into her werewolf form.  
  
Rahne immediately turned around, growling. "We're not alone! Look!" she said, as the same apparition that appeared before Beast and Storm once again appeared.  
  
Moira immediately slammed on the communications button. "Charles, anyone, get over to the lab, quickly!" she practically barked into it, before she turned back to try and restrain Rahne.  
  
I cry...warning! Why don't you hear, why don't you understand?! the being psispoke out in Arabic.  
  
*Oh, if you only Dougie was here... Rahne thought to herself. "I hear words in my head but they don't make sense, it must be another language mummy."  
  
"Aye, 'tis Arabic, but how in blazes did David learn that?!" Moira said, more to herself than to Rahne.  
  
Before Moira and Rahne can react any further however, and even as the X-Men and the New Mutants rush to the lab to intercept Moira's intercom call, and Xavier frantically attempting to psilink with the mysterious intruder, for Rahne and Moira, everything ends with a fiery explosion.  
  
To be continued....  
  
End of chapter nine.  
  
Author's Notes: Well that was the first part of the Legion story, hope you liked it! I hope I didn't offend anyone with Reverend Craig, he was just like that in the comics, so please don't turn on me! Also, I added a few extra's to deal with Day of Reckoning, the finale of the second season, hope you thought those were nice, for you fans of the bad boys, the Brotherhood will be showing up in the chapter after next, titled "The Real Folk Blues", so you'll get to see what the new Brotherhood is all about! Oh yeah, and oddly enough, I planned something similar for Colossus that ended up happening in the show anyway, so no worries there! But, there will be a reunion between Illyana and her brother, so expect a fight between our heroes and Magneto's misfits/Acolytes/New Brotherhood (and yes, they'll have two new members too, aside from Quicksilver, Gambit, Colossus, and Pyro.) soon!  
  
So next up, we'll be seeing the second part (and the conclusion) to the Legion story, and after that, it's the Brotherhood, X-Men, and the Hellions along with our heroes in "Real Folk Blues" Why the huge gathering? You'll find out! And after that, there will be a short low-key chapter, which I'll reveal more on later.  
  
Remember, C&C is always appreciated!  
  
Next Chapter: What happened to Rahne and Moira? What exactly lurks in the mind of young David Haller, the son of Professor Xavier? All this and a little more will answered next chapter, so be there for the twists and turns of Legion, part 2! 


	10. Legion, Part 2

The New Mutants  
  
By: Joey  
  
Disclaimer: Sorry, I don't own these characters, Marvel Comics and I believe KidsWB! (or at least they do for the Evo version) does, and I'm only using the characters for entertainment only, no harm meant.  
  
will be used for Doug/Cypher's language translations and regular language translations as well.  
  
Chapter 10  
  
"Legion, Part 2"  
  
Previously: The combined team of The New Mutants and four of the five core X-Men accompany Professor X to Muir Isle Research Center in Scotland, to investigate several mysterious incidents involving the Professor's son, David. Also, the team found out about the tragic past and rough upbringing of Rahne Sinclair. At the end of the day however, Rahne and her foster mother, Dr. Moira MacTaggert were caught in a ghostly explosion!  
  
******  
  
Once upon a time, when Charles Xavier's world was new and full of infinitely joyous promise, Moira MacTaggert was the most important thing in his life. They were young, and so very much in love. Then he went off to war and then something terrible happened to her and it was ten years before he saw her again. In that interim, both had been scarred by tragedy, and while their passion was no more, they were no longer in love, the need was just as great. So they became first colleagues, and then the truest of friends.  
  
Now, holding her in his arms, trying to find a pulse, probing desperately into her mind for the slightest thought, Xavier fears he's lost her for good, and feels as if someone has torn out his heart.  
  
"Moira! Moira!!" he yelled out in a vain attempt to try and wake her up, as nearby, young Doug Ramsey is attempting to revive Rahne Sinclair, with similar results.  
  
"I don't understand it, she's still in her transitional form, but before, when she's been kayoed, Rahne would revert to human." Sam said, as he stood for Doug and the unconscious Rahne.  
  
"Mr. Xavier, sir, I found a heartbeat, she's still alive!" Doug said, looking up.  
  
"Excellent. Thank Heaven, Moira still has a heartbeat as well." Xavier said. His thoughts then turned back to Moira. *This section of Moira's lab looks as if it was firebombed, and she and Rahne must have been at the core of the explosion, and yet they weren't touched. I've psi-probed as deeply as I dare, but there's no trace of self-identity, in either the conscious or unconscious mind, she's become a blank slate, I've sensed similar, though far more temporary effects on those people who have been absorbed by Rogue. Beast and Storm are in an identical state, the attack on them was the reason Moira summoned me and my X-Men here, and I brought Sam and my other former students here as well because I sensed they're aid would be needed, has the same force or entity now spirited away Moira and Rahne as well? But only an extraordinarily powerful telepath could be capable of such an action.....*  
  
He then wheeled himself and Moira over to a nearby gurney, and set her down on it, and then he closed his eyes and concentrated, sending his astral form, unseen by the others, to explore the medical complex until he found David's room, where the young boy was sleeping like a baby. *And I fear that you are that psi, my son.* he thought to himself. *You've been an autistic schizophrenic for most of your life, and although I am refuted to be the strongest telepath on the planet, when I tried to enter your mind yesterday, you threw me out. I'm beginning to suspect that you are a telepath, a telekinetic, and also a pyrokinetic, but could it also be that each power represents a different personality?* he then left to return back to his body.  
  
"Jean, I want you to help me attempt something." He said as he motioned the girl over.  
  
"Alright Professor, what's your idea?" Jean asked as she walked over.  
  
"I know you dislike using your telepathy, Jean, but this is a critical situation. We will both enter David's mind and attempt to breach through his defenses, our combined abilities should be able to get the job done.  
  
"All right Professor. Let's do it." Jean said, determination on her face.  
  
******  
  
Everyone crowded around Jean and Xavier as they stood and sat next to David, respectively. Soon Jean and the Professor moved themselves onto the psychic plane, and then into David's mind.  
  
"Wow, Professor, you're actually standing up!" Jean exclaimed once they were in David's mind.  
  
"Yes, on the psychic plane, people are able to be as they picture themselves, and so I am able to walk." Xavier explained. He then looked around. "There's no sign of the wall I encountered last time, the way into Jean's mind is completely clear!"  
  
"Um, Professor, I wouldn't say completely clear!" Jean yelled out, pointing to a snarling wolf. "I say that it must be that Rahne girl, but why is she like this?!"  
  
Jean! Don't believe what you see, it's a trap!" Xavier yelled out, but to no avail, as the wolf pounced onto Jean, knocking her to the floor! Xavier quickly attempted to pull off the wolf, but he had only just managed to get a proper grip when the wolf creature burst into flames!  
  
******  
  
At the same time, in David's room, fire suddenly bursts out and surrounds the real bodies of Xavier and Jean, much to the alarm of the others.  
  
"Jean!" Scott cried out, and would have run out to her had Logan not stopped him.  
  
"Hold on kid, those flames are the real deal, I can feel the heat!" He said, a grimace on his face.  
  
"Look out!" Doug yelled as the flames suddenly shot up and engulfed the group itself, soon, the flames die down, and everyone crumples to the floor, as motionless as Rahne and Moira.  
  
And through it all, David remained asleep, a blissfully innocent smile on his face.  
  
******  
  
Back in David's mind, Xavier stood by helpless, as one by one, his students, past and present, plus Wolverine, fell into a tunnel going deeper into David's mind, thanks to a sudden Maelstrom. He then noticed that the wall had returned, and was beginning to close in.  
  
"No! I'll not allow it!" he yelled out, unleashing his psychic powers. "If you can hear my thoughts David, I've no wish to do you harm, but neither will I permit you to abduct and prison my students and myself!" He struggled against the outpour of power being sent against him. "Your raw power makes you a formidable adversary son, but my power is tempered by skill and experience, you are no match for it!" he yelled out as he destroyed a section of the mental wall.  
  
* I don't want to have to do this, sledge-hammering an assault onto my own son's psyche, David is an innocent, I'm sure of it, but I must strike him as hard as I would Magneto!* he thought to himself before unleashing an incredibly wave if psychic energy, demolishing the wall completely.  
  
He was tired from exertion, and certainly did not expect to be confronted with his own sons chilling scream.  
  
"That scream, it's like it was torn from his own soul!" Xavier said, steeling himself. "I must try to calm him, I will not allow those I care about to be lost in his mind!"  
  
Suddenly, David's face appeared, and began to cry out.  
  
"Father! Why are you hurting me?!" it yelled out, NO MORE HURTING PLEASE! MAKE THE BADNESS GO AWAY! HELP ME, SAVE ME, FATHER!"  
  
The face then blasted Xavier back, sending him deeper into the maelstrom.  
  
*No! I just barely have the strength, but if I leave now there's no guarantee that I can make it back to aid the others!* he thought to himself as he struggled back up. He was soon stopped however, as three visages appeared. The first one was an older male, his face ruggedly handsome in a Jon Wayne sort of manner. The second was the young Arabian boy, and the third appeared to be a young teenage girl, anger evident in her features.  
  
"Them's the breaks, pardner. Comes with the territory. "The first one said, as if answering Xavier's thoughts.  
  
Beware, BEWARE! You're lives, and the boy's, are in deadly danger! The second face yelled out in Arabic. Merciful Allah, he hears but he does not understand!  
  
"Who cares?!" the final face said, sneering. "It's better this way, y'know? Kinda lame seein' the same faces all the time, be good t' bring in some new blood to play with!"  
  
"Who are you?!" Xavier yelled out at the faces, anger in his voice.  
  
"You got the education Prof., you tell us." The first face replied. "We are many....so call us, LEGION!"  
  
With that, the maelstrom picked up again, and this time, Xavier could not fight back, and was sent helplessly into the deepest recesses of the maelstrom, trying not to hear the mocking, malevolent laughter that fills the area in his wake.  
  
Meanwhile, back on Muir, the sleeping David Haller stirs, his eyes gleaming and hateful, reveling in the youngster's anguish. He smiles, and then sleeps once more...the better to play with the new toys in his mind.....  
  
******  
  
When Xavier awoke, he saw Scott and Jean, plus two of Sam's friends, the large Native American boy and the young Russian girl watching over him.  
  
"Glad to see you're awake Professor." Scott said, offering his hand to help him up,  
  
"Thank you Scott." Xavier said, as he stood up. He also noticed that Scott was not wearing his glasses. "I see that on the psi-plane Scott, that you have control over you're powers."  
  
"Yeah, even if it temporary." Scott said. "But Jean says she thinks brown eyes suit me."  
  
"Well, this place is a real piece of work, I'll say that." James said. "Just take a look around.  
  
Xavier nodded, and went up to a nearby hill. What he saw astounded him. It was madness, like a child's crazy, quilt-like synthesis of the world's landmarks. Near him was Mount Rushmore, far off in the distance were the Hollywood Hills, complete with the "Hollywood" sign, to far right was the statue of Liberty, and near the middle of it all was the Eiffel Tower. All of this would be eerily beautiful if not for the fact that a war was ravaging throughout the area.  
  
Everything is larger than life, as it would be for a child, David's influence extending to the weapons and machines that ravage the mindscape, making them monstrous and daemonic.  
  
Xavier's eyes wander to the middle of it all, where a huge, darkly brooding dome dominates the madcap metropolis, and he senses instinctively that it holds the answers he seeks. The trick, of course, will be surviving long enough to reach it.  
  
"Everyone, I have a plan. We will attempt to reach the black dome. I have a feeling that it holds the answers to this mystery." He said to the others as he turned back around.  
  
They nodded in agreement to his plan, and began their long trek to dome.  
  
******  
  
Elsewhere, Moira, along with Rahne, Doug, Kurt, and Rogue, were being chased by demonic helicopters, which were firing bullets recklessly, trying to not just hit their targets, but anything else in the way as well.  
  
"If only we could figure out some way to stop these thing!" Kurt yelled out as he deftly dodged another shower of bullets. He was unable to teleport, since this was in the astral plane, so he had to rely on his acrobatic skills instead. He was still blue and fuzzy as well, his brief time with Tabitha and his current relationship with Amanda had helped him become more confident in his appearance.  
  
"We Ah don't know about you, elf, but Ah'm out of ideas!" Rogue said as she broke down a nearby door. "Everyone in here!" she yelled out, and quickly the others followed her in, hiding inside the abandoned building until the demon helicopters passed them by, allowing them to stop outside into the open again.  
  
"Madness, it's madness." Moira said, looking at the carnage. "The parents shove their own children into the line of fire, using their bodies as shields, yet it's the parents who are always killed." She wiped away a few stray tears.  
  
"They say love you, but when it's your life or theirs, they'll dump you every time." A voice rang out from behind the group.  
  
Everyone turned around to see a young, disheveled girl sitting on a fence, chewing on an apple.  
  
"You ask me, the scum get what they deserve." The girl added as she took another bite out of the apple.  
  
"Who are you?" Doug said, looking at the girl.  
  
"Cyndi." The girl replied nonchalantly.  
  
"Can you help us?" Moira asked the girl.  
  
"Sure, but should I?" The girl said, taking another bite.  
  
"For David, and perhaps yourself?" Moira responded, hope in her voice.  
  
"Yeah, right lady, next time, don't lie through your teeth. Ol' Davey is the only one you care about, and he's in the big dome." She said, pointing her thumb at the large structure. "I'm nothing to you, after all."  
  
"But if David dies, you do too, is that what you want?" Moira asked "His powers are out of control, all of this chaos could tear him apart, and we want to prevent that!"  
  
"Watch how you talk to me lady, " Cyndi snapped back, as a demon plane flew by. "I'm one of those powers!" she then turned around and casually snapped her fingers, and the plane suddenly exploded in flames!  
  
"The pyrotic!" Moira gasped out.  
  
"She's the spalpeen who blew up yuir lab?!" Rahne asked, anger in his voice.  
  
"Yup." Cyndi replied, taking one last bite out of her apple before casually tossing the core at Rahne, who growled, " So mind yer manners and treat me nice, fuzzy, or I'll singe yer fur."  
  
******  
  
Meanwhile, the third group was in serious trouble. Once everyone had woken up and gotten their bearings, Amara had spotted a boy that looked remarkably similar to the ghostly visage that had been spotted by both Beast, Storm, Rahne and Moira. The group had tried to give chase, but ended up falling into an ambush full of demon soldiers near the Eiffel Tower area of David's mind. Now the group was fighting as best it could, despite Dani's powers being ineffective against their opponents and Roberto unable to draw upon his own powers.  
  
"Like, Wolverine, now would be a really good time to come up with one of those genius battle plans of yours!" Kitty said, phasing to dodge an attack by one of the soldiers.  
  
"Sorry half-pint, but it looks like we're gonna have to slug this one out without any fancy moves. Wolverine replied, cutting into two opponents with his razor sharp adamantium claws.  
  
"Droga!" Roberto cursed out in Portuguese. "These trash just keep coming, they don't know when to quit!" he had been using a steel pipe to fend off the attackers.  
  
Suddenly however, the opposition exploded into flames, allowing the team to finish off the remainder of the demon soldiers.  
  
"Great job, Amara!" Sam said as he landed from a blast. "Ah don't know how ya did it, but you saved us!"  
  
"But it wasn't me Sam!" Amara protested. "In this is horrible place, I can only generate blasts, not do something to that order!"  
  
"Well, I can." a mocking voice rang out, and the group turned to it. Coming up to them was the group of Moira, Rahne, Doug, Kurt, Rogue, and Cyndi. "And was that cool or what?!" Cyndi practically crowed out, thrusting her fist out into the air. However when no one immediately replied, as they were to busy checking on their friends. She rolled her eyes and grumbled out "Hmph. Don't everyone thank me at once."  
  
Soon introductions were made, and the now large group decided to go explore the black dome, figuring that it must be the major part of the area.  
  
******  
  
Xavier's group had finally managed to make it to the black dome, and were now trying to figure out how to get inside of it.  
  
"I can't seem to find any entrances." James reported.  
  
"And my optic blasts aren't having any affect either." Scott added.  
  
"There must be a way inside, I'm sure of it." Xavier said.  
  
However, before they could investigate further, Jean and Illyana came running to the group.  
  
"Professor! One of those demonic planes is coming this way!" Jean yelled out.  
  
"We think it's on patrol." Illyana said. Her English had improved immensely thanks to her sessions with Doug. "But it will spot us soon."  
  
True enough, the plane soon came into view, however before anyone could react, the plane suddenly halted in midair before being slammed thunderously into the ground.  
  
"What the heck?!" James yelled out. "Did you do that Jean?"  
  
She shook her head no. "I certainly don't have the necessary skill to do that....professor?"  
  
"No, I did not do it either." He said.  
  
A voice then rang out. "Howdy! I thought you all could use a hand!" Immediately a person came into view from around the corner. He was an older man, who looked to be about Beast's age, and who's features were a cross between Jon Wayne and Matt Dillon.  
  
"And you are?" Xavier asked cooly.  
  
"Name's Jack Wayne." The person replied, an amiable grin on his face.  
  
"I recognize you." Xavier stated. "You are one of David's personalities. The telekinetic, I believe." Although his face was as unreadable as a block of ice, on the inside, Xavier couldn't stop himself from warming to the man, who was so like the wild west cinema heroes of his youth.  
  
"Right on both counts Prof." Jack said. " I just figured you all could use some help, so I volunteered myself."  
  
"Yeah but if we fix David up, doesn't that you get wiped away?" James asked. "So why would you want to help us?"  
  
"Hey, it's the right thing to do Hiawatha, besides, I'm still basically part of the kid's mind, so it's not like I'll be really dead, just fixed up." Jack replied, still retaining his grin.  
  
"Hiawatha?!" James grumbled, "I'll show him Hiawatha the lousy..." He'd only spoken a few words with him, but already James wanted to punch the guy in the face.  
  
"So I'm guessing that you know the cause of all this?" Scott asked, trying give James some time to calm down so he didn't maim the man.  
  
"Yep. You know the Arab personality, right Prof?" Jack asked. "Well, he's the cause. This is David's head, and the creep gives him nightmares, which causes all of this, Lord knows what he does to the kid's mind inside the dome."  
  
"I see." Xavier said. "David is my son. I will put a stop to this, somehow."  
  
Before they could formulate any plans however, they were soon greeted by the large group being lead by Moira McTaggert and Wolverine.  
  
"Company." Jack stated, plainly.  
  
"Indeed." Xavier said, "These are the rest of our group."  
  
Once introductions were made, everyone started to conference as to how to gain entrance into the black dome.  
  
"We can try hitting it with everything we have." Kurt suggested, "That could make bust a hole through it."  
  
"Nah, I've hit it with everything from rocks to those demonic plans, kid, nothing even scratches it." Jack answered. "So that idea is right out."  
  
Doug cleared his throat. "You know, I just remembered this episode of the original Star Trek series.."  
  
"Oh gimme a break. blondie wants to go talk sci-fi at a time like this?" Cyndi grumbled aloud.  
  
"Oh, why don't y'all shut up for change." Rogue snapped at her. The girl was seriously annoying her.  
  
"Well, anyway, like I was saying, in the episode Kirk was kidnapped, and the crew had to try and bust him out, right? But their phasers didn't work, even at full power." Doug continued, "Thing is, the phasers worked all along, it's just that the villains were telapaths, who wouldn't let the crew see that."  
  
"An impressive deduction Douglas." Xavier said, impressed, as realization slowly dawned upon his features. "We too face a telapath, and this dome is barrier...but only if we let it be."  
  
He then slowly walked towards the dome, and to everyone's surprise, actually melded into it.  
  
"Looks like you were right kid." Wolverine said. "Nice one."  
  
Soon, one by one, each person, including Jack and Cyndi, walked into the black dome.  
  
As he walked, Xavier began to think to himself. *Of All the things I've encountered, this remains one of the most wondrous, and the most sad.* As he walked, the pitch black darkness slowly receded into a bright light, which gave way to a room full of stain glass pictures, each one containing a memory of David's. *Wonderous because of the mind's infinite potential, sad because of has for so long remained unfulfilled. The core of a living person's being, the seat of memory and awareness, perhaps even the soul. Here, I pray, I can find my son."  
  
Soon he was joined by the others, the large group filing in.  
  
"There should be more." Xavier stated.  
  
"What was that professor?" Kitty asked, as she looked around.  
  
"There should be more windows, more memories. Usually people at David's age have more than this. It's sad." Xavier said as he explored.  
  
"Professor!" Rahne called out. She was kneeling on the floor. "Some of the crystals have been shattered!" Xavier nodded and walked over to investigate for himself.  
  
"OW!" James yelled out as his arm was sliced by a floating shard. "That thing went right through me, and I'm supposed to be invulnerable to most injuries. Be careful, those things are sharp!"  
  
"It's got to be the doing of that Arab punk." Jack spat out. "He's trying to destroy the boy's consciousness so he can take over."  
  
"Perhaps, Jack." Xavier said as he looked at the broken shards. "But I doubt it. I think that this was caused by the initial trauma. What's strange though, is that many of these crystals seem to have been repaired." He then goes into deep thought. *Only a telepath is capable of doing that, yet the only other psi is the Arabian boy, but why save a person he supposedly hates, why does he not destroy everything and take over, like Jack keeps suggesting he is doing? Have I misjudged him?*  
  
Before he can think things out further, Moira points up above and yells out, "Look!"  
  
Spiraling out of the darkness comes another crystal cluster, with the young Arab boy, a look of pure pain on his face as the shards tear into him, in the center of it. Before anyone can react, the cluster smashes into a large group of serene crystals. Many are broken, spraying shrapnel everywhere. None, save for Jack, which Dani noticed, escaped unscathed, using his telekinetic forcefield to protect only himself. Sam and Kitty were unable to blast and phase respectively, in time, Jean was also unable to bring up her own TK shield, and Scott's optic blasts had no affect. Similarly, Cyndi's flames also had no affect, and the young girl screamed out in horrible pain, and to his own amazement, Doug Ramsey springs to her aid, he himself getting cut more as a result. Now, only Jack was left standing, and he pulled a knife out of his boot.  
  
"Not it's only you and me left, boy." He said. " And that won't be for long."  
  
He the flipped the knife around so that it faced down, and readied himself for the strike.  
  
*He's gonna...knife that kid!* Doug thought to himself. "Leave him alone!" he yelled, and as he fought through the pain, Doug leaped up and tried to tackle Jack, who simply tossed him aside telekinetically.  
  
"Mind you're own business, punk!" he growled, before focusing back on his target.  
  
"Showing your true colors huh?" Dani said, as she stood up.  
  
"Hey, I'm trying to save you're collective butts, the kid just got in the way." Jack replied.  
  
"Well, surprise, I think you're lying!" Dani said, because reaching out and bringing out Jack's worst fear to life.  
  
Dani wasn't sure to expect, so she was surprised when Jack's deepest, most primal fear turns out to be Xavier, looking like a loving Father, holding a young boy who can only be David, close to him in a loving embrace. The mere sight of this sends Jack running to the shadows in terror. Dani kneels down and tries to revive the boy, and soon she is awarded.  
  
"W-where..." he asks, groggily.  
  
Soon explanations are made, and the boy is finally able to tell his side of the story.  
  
"So how'd you finally learn English?" Sam asked.  
  
"The boy named Doug, his conscious was open to me, I was able to scan it, and eventually the information was assimilated, and I could understand you." He explained. "But still, what a disaster. Years of work and effort, separating the images and mending them, trying to repair the damage..."  
  
"So you were trying to heal my son." Xavier said. "You said your name was Jemail, correct?"  
  
"Yes," Jemail answered. "At first I was angry at him, I felt that he was hampering me, not allowing me to really live and experience, but as I slowly gained my own self-identity, I saw the error of my ways, especially after I read David's mind and found out what an innocent soul he was, and tried to fix things, even it would mean my own undoing."  
  
"What about Storm and Mr. McCoy?" Kitty asked.  
  
"They are safe, I've been taking care of them as well." Jemail said. "But all of this damage, it will take too long to fix things, and with David's real world powers out of control, I fear I may have to take control in order to save the boy."  
  
"Maybe not." Xavier said. "I am still weak, however if you work together with Jean and Jack to telekinetically shunt the crystal's to their proper place, then the you can fix things rapidly."  
  
"It makes sense, but do you trust him?" Jemail asked.  
  
"No more than I do you, son." Xavier said.  
  
"But he is evil!" Jemail yelled out.  
  
"He states the same thing about you." Xavier responded flatly.  
  
"You don't trust me sir, even after all that I said?" Jemail asked, confusion in his voice.  
  
"Yes, even after that. However I believe your mutual hate plus Jean's moderation will balance things out." Xavier said. "Though for what it's worth, I trust you slightly more than I do Jack."  
  
"And if he refuses?" Jemail asked.  
  
"Leave that to me." James said, one of his hands wrapped around Jack's throat. "You're going to be a good boy and cooperate, right?" he asked. "No trick either...Or do I have to get nasty?"  
  
"Whatever you say, big man. I'll do it." Jack stated, realizing that he was in no position to bargain.  
  
******  
  
Xavier awoke on a hospital bed, Moira nearby.  
  
"Moira? I'm back?" he asked groggily.  
  
"Aye, back in normal reality, on Muir Isle." She said. "Everyone is safe and sound now, you're the last to come out of it."  
  
"How long was I out?" he asked.  
  
"Only about a fortnight." Moira said. "We were worried at first, but I knew you'd come out of it."  
  
"I'm relieved that my idea worked." Xavier said. "But I'm very proud of Jean, as well as the others. They've all come very far from when I first brought them to the Institute."  
  
******  
  
Much later, when Xavier was able to move back into his wheelchair, Moira allowed him to visit the newly reawakened David.  
  
"I don't wish to intrude Moira..." Xavier said, almost timid.  
  
"It's all right Charles." Moira said, before turning to David. "You're father's waiting lad. Go say hi."  
  
"It's good to see you again David." Xavier said.  
  
"H'lo sir." David said shyly. The boy looked to be as much of a nervous wreck as his Father.  
  
"I...I really don't know what to say." Xavier said, trying to fight back tears.  
  
"Me neither." David said, before his face changed a bit, his mannerism's becoming more masculine, and sure of himself. "So what's the problem, already?! You're the mindking after all, Charley, ain't like you to be tongue-tied."  
  
"That voice...those mannerisms...Jack Wayne?" Xavier said, taken aback.  
  
David's expression changed again, this time more sullen, and rebellious.  
  
"Man's as lame as Davey." he said, " An' who knew the real world was this dull?"  
  
"Cyndi?" Xavier was starting to get worried.  
  
"Forgive me Professor, I lacked the strength and knowledge to deal with the other psi-selves, but David's mind is healed otherwise." Jemail responded through David's body." I fear Jack arranged things without my knowledge, to ensure his and Cyndi's survival. I have failed both you and you're son. I am sorry."  
  
"You did the best you could, Jemail, and I thank you." Xavier said, "There is nothing to be ashamed of.  
  
David's face then softened back into what it was when David was in control. "Dad...it's really you, right?"  
  
"Yes, David. It is." Xavier said. This time, the tears could not be stopped.  
  
"An' you'll always be with me, right?" David asked as he hugged his father for the first time in a long time.  
  
"You have my word..." Xavier said, as he hugged his son, "I will never lose you!"  
  
End of Chapter ten.  
  
Author's notes: Well that was kind of fun. Hope you all liked the plot twist involving Jemail and Jack Wayne. This two-parter is based off of an actual three part story in the New Mutants comic book, issues 26, 27, and 28, in case you're curious. They're a little hard to find, but excellent reads (though without the huge cast). Next up, is "The Real Folk Blues" which not only has the Hellions returning, but one last guest appearance by the X-Men, AND the Brotherhood (Lance's team) is in it too, PLUS be ready for one heck of an ending! The next chapter, titled "Paint it Black" (from a song by the rock band the Rolling Stones) will be a lead-in the from the end of that one, and will talked about more next chapter. As always, C&C is greatly appreciated!  
  
Next Chapter: The White Queen is hosting the Hellfire Club Ball. The largest upper-class party around, and the New Mutants, X-Men, and even the Brotherhood are invited! But when an anti-mutant group crashes the party, expect the unexpected in "The Real Folk Blues"! 


	11. The Real Folk Blues

The New Mutants By: Joey Disclaimer: Sorry, I don't own these characters, Marvel Comics and I believe KidsWB! (or at least they do for the Evo version) does, and I'm only using the characters for entertainment only, no harm meant.  
  
will be used for Doug/Cypher's language translations and regular language translations as well.  
  
Chapter 11 "The Real Folk Blues"  
  
Previously: In an attempt to rescue Beast, Storm, Wolfsbane, and Moira McTaggert, the combined teams of the New Mutants and the X-Men found themselves transported into the mind of David Haller, the tortured young son of Professor X, who suffers from schizophrenia. Inside, they encountered a nightmare landscape of the world's landmarks, and the nightmare beings that live there, as well as the three personalities of young David: Jack Wayne, a rough and rowdy Jon Wayne-esque hero with telekinetic powers, Cyndi, a smart mouthed street urchin with pyrotic powers, and Jemail, an Arabic telepath. Eventually, with the aid of Jemail and (with some convincing) Jack Wayne, Jean Grey was able to repair David's mind, though Jemail lacked the expertise to keep the other personalities closed and locked away, and all though there are still three other beings inside of him, young David Haller, reunited with his Father, is on the road to recovery.  
  
******  
  
After the events with young David, the teams were finally able to relax. Both the X-Men and the New Mutants spent the next few days relaxing and taking in the sights before flying back to Bayville, from there, the New Mutants had planned to splinter off again, making up for lost time on their road trip by using Illyana's teleportation powers. However that plan was soon changed when a video tape was left at the Institute's doorstep, addressed to Charles Xavier.  
  
******  
  
Later, everyone crowded around a large monitor where Professor X had inserted the tape, which soon began, with none other than Emma Frost, the White Queen appearing on the screen!  
  
"Hello Charles, I'm sure you remember me well, don't you?" Emma said, her voice dripping with ice, "Well your former student has decided that is finally time for a little reunion. Yes, that's right Charles, let's catch up on old times, shall we? In Boston, I will be hosting a little gala. Surely you've heard of the Hellfire club, haven't you? I'm quite in favor with their New York chapter, and so I've been chosen to host their yearly ball, and felt that you and your most experienced students should have the honor of attending."  
  
Emma then smiled, as she took a sip of red wine from a goblet. "Also, I know that you have some of your more...shall we say, "free-spirited" students with you, in fact, they're probably watching this with you right now. I want to let them know that they too are invited to attend. Oh, and remember, this is a formal, so please, do try and look at least halfway presentable."  
  
With that, the tape ended, leaving the group to decide on what to do.  
  
******  
  
"The White Queen's bad news sir. Ah don't know how you came to know her, but Ah don't think we can trust her." Sam said, lending his opinion to the debate.  
  
"Emma was one of my first students," Xavier said, " along with Wolverine, Storm, and for a short time, Beast. However, after a.... falling out, Emma left. I kept an eye on her, however, I never really realized that she was with the Hellfire club. And how might I ask Samuel, do you know her?"  
  
"Well, sir," Roberto said, cutting in. "During our little trip, we had a run-in with her in Boston. Let's just say that she and her little team aren't on the best of terms with us."  
  
"Her team?" Xavier said, "Who may I ask, are they?"  
  
"You saw the news report, right?" Roberto replied, "Those were the guys we were fighting at the Towering Inferno festival. They're called the Hellions, James and Doug were classmates of theirs, though they weren't involved with them."  
  
James nodded his head. "Yeah, Manuel, who's codenamed Empath, can manipulate emotions, Jenny, who's called Roulette has these luck discs that manipulate good and bad luck. There's also this purple haired girl who can morph into a cat and a panther, plus Marie, who's called Tarot because she can bring images from Tarot cards to life, and some kid with flight powers." He said, summarizing what he knew of the team.  
  
"Sam thinks the guy might be some sort of cyborg." Doug added, "Since the guy grew some jet stuff out of his legs, which I think channels and controls the energy he uses to fly."  
  
Sam nodded in confirmation. "I have to wonder if she's got some sort of trap set, sir, Ah just don't have a good feeling about this."  
  
"Be that as it may, I have decided to go to her party. Ororo and Hank will be staying here with the younger team, while Logan, myself, and the rest of you will going to the ball." Xavier said, the look in his face brooking no argument, although the junior team still sighed in disappointment.  
  
Sam shrugged, "Well Ah guess that means we oughta go as well." he said, looking at his teammates, who nodded their heads in support.  
  
******  
  
He still remembered it like it had been yesterday. As the man named Cameron Hodge stood on a makeshift podium, about to address a large group of men, he remembered.  
  
He was a wealthy socialite, heir to a fortune that his family had built in the airplane industry. Their wealth was up there with such well to do families like the Stark's and the Worthington's, and he was always attending social events. That's when he met her. Blonde hair, blue eyes, skin almost as pale as ice, but still alluring. Apparently she had come out of nowhere to become one of richest up and comers in the nation, setting up her own company with little effort and attracting business and funding with little trouble. So he had immediately began a relationship with young Ms. Frost, taking her on trip's to Paris and London, buying her expensive gifts, and lavishing her with attention. And just as quickly as it began, it ended, with almost the entire amount of his family's fortune gone! In her arrogance, she eventually told him what had happened: She took control of his body, made him sign the money over to her, and then mindwiped him of the entire incident. She was a mutant, she had ruined his life, and she had thrown it all in his face, mocking him. He still remembered her cold laughter as she told him that he was powerless to do anything against her. Well, he would prove her wrong tonight.  
  
His hatred for her and mutants grew as time went on, and after the battle in the city of Bayville involving a robot and a large group of mutants, well, it hadn't been too hard to find others like him, who didn't want mutants around, who either wanted them gone for the safety of their families and friends, or those who simply saw them as abominations. So they banded together and formed a group called Humanity's Last Stand, the HSL for short, and tonight they had their first target, the mutie infested Hellfire Club ball, complete with the object of his hatred, Emma Frost!  
  
"Friends! brothers!" Hodge spoke into the podium's microphone, "Tonight, is the night we take our first step into taking back the safety of our lives! Tonight, we strike the muties hard, and we strike them without mercy! No sacrifice is too large for our cause, because against the mutant menace, we truly are humanity's last stand!" to accentuate his point, he thrust his fist into the air, the crowd yelling with raucous cheers and applause in their support of him.  
  
*Tonight, there will be a reckoning.* he thought to himself, as he subconsciously patted his hip holster. Most of the men had standard issue energy rifles, acquired from a rogue SHIELD agent named Bolliver Trask, but he had a special addition, a small pistol, with a single bullet, that he would personally use to finish things once and for all with Emma Frost.  
  
*Tonight, I will have my revenge.*  
  
******  
  
The night of the Hellfire Club ball, Boston Massachusetts.  
  
It hadn't been too difficult for the large group to make their way from the Hotel that they were staying in to the club itself. The boys were all in tuxedos (although it had been with extreme resistance from Wolverine), while the girls were all in dresses, or in the case of Kitty, a proper ballroom gown.  
  
As they made their way inside the grand building, they could here the music of a symphony playing classical music, and were finally greeted by the White Queen herself.  
  
"Why hello there Charles," Emma greeted coolly, "as the White Queen, and in the name of the Lords Cardinal, I bid you and your students welcome to our gala."  
  
She then gave a gracious wave of her hand as she motioned towards the open doors leading into the hall itself. As they walked into the room, Sam motioned for Scott to look up towards a nearby balcony, where a group teens looked down, watching the proceedings.  
  
"Heads up, up there on the balcony are Frost's students, the Hellions." He said a loud, so that the others knew who they were and to keep on their toes.  
  
"Ah, they can't be too tough." Kurt said, "Besides, this is a party, they wouldn't start any trouble, right?" he then gave a carefree shrug. "C'mon, let's have a blast tonight!"  
  
"The fuzzy dork has a got a point, yo." A familiar voice said from behind the group. They all turned around to see the Brotherhood in emerging from the hallway, surprisingly dressed well.  
  
"Hey are those cheesepuffs on that table?" Fred said as he spied the snack table. He was about to go walk over when Lance held him back.  
  
"Later Freddy." he said, "So what are you guys doing here, and I thought those other kids wised up and ditched Xavier?"  
  
"We were invited." Scott said, "How did you guys get in here? and aren't those clothes a little out of your budget?"  
  
In response, Lance just reached into his inner coat pocket and supplied an invitation. "We got invites ourselves Summers, plus some spending money and a limo." He smirked and added, "Whoever this Emma Frost lady is, she sure knows how to treat prospective students."  
  
Bored of all the chatter, Tabitha interjected herself in the conversation, "C'mon boys, chill out, a shindig like this only happens once in a lifetime, let's not blow our chance here!" she then grabbed Wanda and dragged her out on the dance floor, saying that she saw a few cute guys for them.  
  
The mood seemed to lighten a bit after that, and the groups eventually splintered up, going every which way while the party continued on.  
  
******  
  
While many people were enjoying the party, Jean Grey was not. Over the past year, the psychic side of her powers become more and more strong, forcing her to work even harder at controlling her surfacing ability to read minds, especially in extremely large crowds like this, where she had to keep her concentration high.  
  
*I hate this,* she thought to herself, * so many of the thoughts here so... horrible.... and bordering on almost evil. How could anyone stand to be here?*  
  
Her agonizing was interrupted as her boyfriend, Scott Summers, came up to her with a cup of punch.  
  
"You ok Jean?" he asked, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You don't look to good."  
  
She shook her head and replied, "No Scott, I'm ok, it's just hard blocking all these thoughts. Especially in a place like this. A lot of these thoughts aren't about tea parties and mansions ...they're ... I can't really describe them."  
  
He gave her a worried look and motioned towards some French doors that led outside. "How about we step out then. There's shouldn't be too many people out there." He said, offering his hand to her.  
  
Jean nodded her head in agreement. "Thank you Scott, that sounds really good right about now." She said, and took his offered hand, and the two made their way to the exit, hand in hand.  
  
Meanwhile, for two other couples, things were much different.  
  
"Kitty, all I asked was if you wanted to have a dance with me." That was said by Lance Alvers, the mutant known as Avalanche. Not too long ago, he was in love with a girl named Kitty Pryde, who loved him back. Despite being on opposite sides in the battle of mutant existence, the two managed to work out a relationship. That all changed when the former leader of the Brotherhood, Mystique, kidnapped and impersonated Professor Xavier and blew up the Xavier Institute Mansion. Now, Lance was desperately trying to win back her love, piece by small piece at a time.  
  
"And why should I Lance?" was the reply from Kitty Pryde, "Someone probably put you up to it anyway."  
  
"What?!" Lance said, shocked, "Why would you say that?"  
  
"Pretty easy, with who you are anf the crowd you hang with." Kitty said, crossing her arms.  
  
Lance was practically beside himself now, his voice tinged with shock, anger, and sadness. "I was trying to be nice Kitty, I love you!"  
  
Venom in her voice, Kitty simply replied, "Well I don't." before turning on her heal and stalking away, shoving a nearby Kurt, who was hogging the snack table, out of her way, while Lance, not giving up despite his outright shock, was hot on her heals, following her.  
  
Meanwhile, for Roberto DaCosta and Amara Aquilla, it was a little different. They were arguing about Roberto checking out several waitresses.  
  
"I can't believe you! I thought you were going to make a serious effort, and here you are, hitting on almost every serving girl here!" Amara said, outrage in her voice.  
  
"Hey, don't you start with me, we haven't even told the others about us yet!" he said, "and who's idea was it about that? Yours!"  
  
"Well, if I had really known how much of a playboy you are, I wouldn't have fallen for you in the first place!" she said, holding back the urge to yell, and slapped him instead, then she dumped her drink on him and walked away, grabbing a random person and taking him out to the dance floor.  
  
Roberto just stood there aghast, until a waitress walked up to him and asked him if he'd like a towel.  
  
******  
  
*Now THAT was fun* thought Manuel De La Rocha, the mutant emotion warper code-named Empath. *For those other brats, DaCosta and Aquilla, I didn't have to do a thing, and it was a simple enough task to connect a link with that brunette and get her to blow up at her former boyfriend, turning her love for him into bitter hate.* he thought smugly as he watched Kitty leaving the main area. He gave a small chuckle, enjoying the mayhem he caused, until he turned around, and was eye to eye with Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch!  
  
"Care to dance?" she said tonelessly, grabbing his hands and sweeping him out into the dance floor. "You wouldn't have happened to have had a hand in one of those little scenes, did you?" she asked, her eyes cold with silent fury.  
  
"N-no!" Manuel replied, genuine fear in his voice. *MY power.... I can't take control of her mind! ...and she knows it! Her eyes.....like the abyss....* he thought, trying to resist the urge to panic.  
  
"Too bad," she said, before leaning in, her face only inches from his. "Because if you had a hand in either of them I'd have to get angry. You don't want to see me get angry." she said, her eyes still as cold as ice as her crimson shaded lips curled into a wicked smile. "Just give me an excuse, even the smallest one, and I'll give you the experience of your life." She then let go of him and walked off, leaving Empath stunned and scared, fighting the urge to soil himself in absolute terror.  
  
******  
  
*What got into Him?* Rogue thought as she saw Wanda leave Empath. *Poor boy looks as white as corpse*  
  
Rogue was leaning against a wall, ever the wallflower, watching many other couples dance together. She gave a sigh, loneliness creeping into her as she thought of Scott, now happy with Jean, as well as that mysterious card throwing crony of Magneto's, who was creeping into her thoughts more and more recently. Whatever musings she was about to get into however, was interrupted, as someone walked up to her.  
  
"You look rather lonely madam," said the boy, he had dark skin, and looked to be of Arabian descent. "and as a gentleman, I can't allow that."  
  
"Look buddy, just leave me alone, ok? Ah'm happy where Ah am." she said, trying to give him the brush off.  
  
"I do not know what they teach you at Xavier's school, but I can certainly see when someone is unhappy." the boy said, crossing his arms and shooting her an unbelieving look.  
  
"Wait, now Ah recognize ya, you're one of those Hellions." Rogue said, moving her body into a defensive stance.  
  
"At ease, I am not you opponent tonight. My name is Haroun, and yours?" He asked courteously.  
  
"Ah'm...Ah'm Rogue." She said, "Ah'd shake you're hand, but even the smallest bit of skin to skin touch would drain you of all you're energy, memory, and powers."  
  
Haroun only raised an eyebrow at her name, but nodded when she mentioned her powers. "I understand then. But I suppose you're powers are why you are not out in the party? I don't really see the reason why."  
  
Rogue sighed, "Probably because Ah'm afraid of getting someone hurt, mah powers can do a lot of damage." She said, starting to feel more at ease with the boy.  
  
"Mine do as well. They burned my body badly you know," He said, "My legs are entirely cybernetic now."  
  
"Wow, must be tough." Rogue replied, sizing the boy up. *He's pretty tough, to keep going after what happened to him.* She thought to herself.  
  
"Yes, and I must be extra careful when I dance, the metal could hurt my partners feet you know." He joked. "But sometimes, as I have heard from you Americans, when life give you trouble, you have to grit your teeth and bare it, and just keep going."  
  
The two continued their talking, after that, getting to know one another as friends.  
  
******  
  
Doug Ramsey was out near the dance floor, looking around for Rahne Sinclair. In the short time they had known each, the young man had grown close to her, and was now starting to love her. Now at least, he just wanted to dance with her. However before he could find her, he was approached by a former classmate.  
  
"Bonjour m'sieu Ramsey, surely you remember me?" the girl said, "I am Marie- Ange Colbert."  
  
"Yeah, I remember you Tarot." He said, "Why'd you come seek me out?"  
  
"The hired Orchestra is playing a Waltz now, and it has been so long since I have danced, perhaps, forgive me for being so forward, you would like to dance?" she asked, hope in her emerald eyes.  
  
*The White Queen could be putting her up to this.* Doug thought, but he chased those thoughts away. *No, she seems too sincere for that.* After some deliberation, he nodded his head. "Sure, I'll share this dance with you."  
  
"Oh, thank you, Douglas." She said, and took his hand, leading him out to the dance floor.  
  
Because of that, he never saw Rahne Sinclair approach him, he never saw the hurt in her eyes as he agreed to the dance, and he never saw her leave, fighting to keep the tears from falling.  
  
Rahne soon found a nice secluded spot, away from any intrusion, where she could cry quietly *I dinnae like this place, the others are all involved, and now Doug...Ach, I just want to leave. Maybe no one will notice if I slip awa-*"Yaaah!" her thoughts her interrupted when a pair of hands covered her eyes in darkness. She quickly spun around, and saw Catseye, grinning like a Cheshire Cat.  
  
"Surprise!" the purple haired girl said, "Say hello funny way, big-laugh, yes?" she asked, innocence in her voice as she impulsively grabbed Rahne into a hug. "Catseye feel heart good to see redfur girl, been forever since last romp!"  
  
Surprised, Rahne took it in stride. "Uh, Aye, 'tis nice to see ye again Catseye." she said, wondering if this wasn't some sort of elaborate trick.  
  
"Smoothskins borings, go play by ourselves, yes?" Catseye asked, her grin returning. "No get in trouble if no get caught."  
  
Rahne shook her head, "Ach, I shouldn't." She replied, uneasiness in her voice.  
  
"Be brave, be daring, like Catseye, yes?" was Catseye's response as she morphed into her small, purple feline form, her dress falling down around her.  
  
"Oh...why not." Rahne said, *it will take my mind off of things.* he thought as she changed into her Wolf form, her clothes also falling around her.  
  
The two then hid there clothes and ran off to make mischief.  
  
******  
  
Sam and Dani had been dancing together, when Dani suddenly stiffened up.  
  
"Something wrong Dani?" Sam asked, concerned, "Ah'm not that bad of a dancer, am I?"  
  
Dani shook her head, "No, it's not that." She said, "Rahne and I have been working on connecting to each other while she's in Wolf Form, and I just got a large amount of feedback from her..."  
  
The two walked out of the dance floor and continued talking.  
  
"You think she's in trouble?" Sam asked, "Ah can mobilize the others in a hurry if Ah need to."  
  
"No, I don't think she's in trouble, even if she is with that purple haired girl. They seem to be up to pranks more than anything else." Dani said, taking Sam's hand. "Come on, I'm certain we can find them, especially since Rahne is still in her Wolf form."  
  
The two walked off in a hurry, past Illyana, who was talking with the two new Brotherhood members, Rusty Collins and Sally Blevins, as well as a girl with fiery red hair, who claimed to be a new Hellion, and into a hallway.  
  
******  
  
Elsewhere, James Proudstar was having his own conversation with Jenny Stavros outside a meeting room that had been converted into a makeshift casino.  
  
"Nice dress Jenny." James said as they stood outside looking in, " So these are your kind of people huh?"  
  
"Thanks big guy, and yeah, my kind of place filled with my kind of people," she replied, throwing him look, "What about you?"  
  
James gave another look inside and shook his head. "Them? No, those aren't my kind of people." He said, then a loud noise, like the roar of a crowd filled the air from a nearby room. "Now that sounds like my kind of people."  
  
Jenny gave him a curious look, but followed him as walked to the room where the noise originated. Inside, was large gathering of people, and in the center was table, where Freddy Dukes, the Blob sat. Beside him was a very substantial pile of cash, and nearby, Todd Tolensky and Tabitha Smith were inciting the crowd like ring announcers.  
  
"Come on yo, test you're strength against the mighty Dukes!" Todd yelled out, "If you win, you get the whole pile of cash!"  
  
Tabitha further incited the crowd, "All you have to do is arm wrestle his hand to the ground, simple as that guys, after plunkering down the small entry fee of twenty dollars of course."  
  
After the talk was over, James turned to Jenny and said, "You want to cover me? I'll make it worth your while."  
  
Jenny looked skeptical, but offered up the money. "All right, but if you lose, you owe me twenty big ones." She said.  
  
James sat down opposite Freddy, as Todd hollered out, "All right! New contestant! Lock hands, and on my mark, don't hold back!"  
  
Both teens nodded and locked hands, determination of their faces.  
  
"Alright ... one ... two ... go!" Todd yelled out, and the contest was on! At first, it was an even match, but as time went on, James slowly but surely gained the advantage until, with one hard thrust, he slammed Freddy's hand down onto the table.  
  
Tabitha and Todd were speechless, while Freddy nursed his hand. Jenny smiled, and said, "Well that's karma for you, never prey on the weak, it could cost you a fortune." Before reaching in and attempting to take the pile of money, but she was stopped by James, who smiled and said, "How about best two out of three?"  
  
Freddy looked up, his mouth slowly turning into a smile. "You're on!"  
  
******  
  
"Quite a party, isn't it Charles?" Emma Frost said, as she walked up to her former teacher, Logan, sometimes known as Wolverine, was with him. "I do hope you've been entertained."  
  
The three of them were up on a loft, which was connected by several flights of stairs, that overlooked the entire ballroom, giving them a perfect vantage point.  
  
"It has been an...interesting evening, I will admit Emma, but I would like you to answer at least one question of mine." Xavier said, "Why did you invite the Brotherhood?"  
  
Logan crossed his arms, and said, "Been wondering that myself, Ice Queen. They don't exactly fit you're style, if you get what I'm saying."  
  
"Oh, the answer is simple enough, I want them as hired muscle." Emma said plainly. "Most of them are certainly not the brightest of people, but they do have a nice array of talents, that may come in handy as enforcers."  
  
"So you just plan on using them?" Logan replied, "Like canon fodder or something?"  
  
"Why of course, dear Logan, you didn't seriously think I'd let them into my little inner circle, did you?" Emma said with a tone as cool as ice. "Trash like them only serve one purpose in life, making sure people like me and students stay at the top."  
  
******  
  
Outside, the small contingent of Humanity's Last Stand gathered. Each man wore a suit of battle armor, designed in theory, to protect them from all mutant attacks, and were each armed with energy rifles, and at the front stood Cameron Hodge, a look of pure determination on his face. He smiled as let his hand wander to gun that would finish off Emma Frost for good. He couldn't wait to see her face when he pulled the gun from it's holster and shot her.  
  
He turned around, looking over the men under his command, a sense of pride washing over him. He then raised his hand and yelled, "Move out!" before bringing it down, and with that, they charged, jumping through windows, and rushed through doors, entering the building by any means necessary.  
  
******  
  
They caught everyone by surprise when they attacked. The attack squad of Humanity's Last stand, lacking the proper identification equipment, pretty much shot at either anything that looked out of the ordinary at first, and eventually, against anything that resisted them, and resistance they found.  
  
Boom Boom jumped around from target to target, hooting and hollering as she sent several little timebombs around, detonating them once she was clear, and while they were still stunned, Toad jumped on them with his strong legs, knocking them out cold.  
  
Cannonball and Jetstream were rocketing around the area, swooping down and dive-bombing at their foes, while Roulette tossed bad luck discs around, causing the armored suits to malfunction, leaving their attackers sitting targets for any attacks.  
  
Still, they were outnumbered, and Cannonball landed down next to Magik.  
  
"Magik, Ah got an idea. Remember those little demons you were training?" he said to the Russian girl.  
  
"Yes, I remember. Do you want me to bring them here?" she asked.  
  
"Yup, that should even the odds for us." Cannonball replied before blasting off again.  
  
Magik then concentrated, and activated a stepping disc, which melted her into the ground, sending her into the realm called Limbo.  
  
"Hey, where's she going, yo?" Toad said as he jumped on another target, using him as a vantage point to spit some slime at several HLS members.  
  
Before he could do anything else however, Magik reappeared, and soon after, many more stepping discs became active, and small little demons came through, many of them varieties of dragon.  
  
Upon seeing this, Toad let out one of his trademark screams, and yelled at Nightcrawler, "Geez you stupid Fuzzy gecko, you just had to bring those things back with you, didn't ya?"  
  
"This can't be my fault!" Nightcrawler yelled back after a quick teleport, "I don't even use that machine anymore!"  
  
They're arguing was halted however, by Mirage, who had sent several soldiers fleeing in terror with one of her psychic assaults, before telling them both that the dragons and demons were on their side this time, having heard the original story from Sam.  
  
******  
  
Elsewhere, Cameron Hodge thought he saw his chance to finally have his revenge, as Emma Frost seemed to be busy with the other soldiers while arguing with an old man in a wheelchair. He gave a loud yell as he ran up the steps, reaching for his gun. "Emma Frost! Prepare to die!" He screamed out as he reached the top of the stairs, however, before he could do anything else, The White Queen turned around, surprised.  
  
"Cameron? Cameron Hodge? Is that you?" She said, dryly. "I was wondering what had ever happened to you."  
  
Hodge looked livid, "You ruined my life, and you barely remember who I am?!" He screamed out, his voice cracking. "Well, I'll make sure you remember me now!"  
  
He was interrupted however, by a loud "Snikt!", causing him to turn around, seeing a very angry looking Wolverine, his right hand outstretched, and adamantium claws bared. "She may have some trouble coming to her bub," He drawled menacingly, "but it ain't going to be done by you and you're sorry bunch of yahoos."  
  
At this, Hodge, forgetting where he was, leapt back in terror, yelping. Unfortunately, he was too close to the edge, and he lost his balance against the railing and flew over, landing onto a table down below.  
  
Looking down, Wolverine sheathed his claws and gave a shrug, before going back to check on Xavier.  
  
******  
  
Now, the tide was beginning to turn, the members of the Humanity's Last Stand that weren't outright defeated, were now beginning to retreat.  
  
"We've got them on the run!" Avalanche yelled out, spying some escaping soldiers. He sent them stomped his foot to the ground, sending a tremoring shockwave out to knock them off their feet, but this action distracted him, and he didn't see a soldier sneak up on him, ready to fire, until it was too late. He cringed for the blast that never came, as when he opened his eyes, he was standing there dumbstruck, and next to a phased Shadowcat, the soldier unconscious, and with a melted energy rifle in his hand. He caught the Scarlet Witch in the corner of his eye, and immediately concluded that she had caused that, but he was surprised to see Shadowcat.  
  
"Kitty...why'd you...I mean, earlier..." he stuttered out, confused.  
  
"I don't really know what came over me earlier Lance, but...I still owed you one for when you saved me from that flaming mascot awhile back." She said, her eyes full of tenderness.  
  
Avalanche smiled at that, and said, "That's good enough for me."  
  
Meanwhile, Wolfsbane and Catseye, who had been found by Cannonball and Mirage before they had caused too much trouble, were now pouncing onto various opponents, tearing into their armor with their claws, or in Wolfsbane's case, since she was in her transitional form, throwing their guns away. She was so busy however, she didn't notice what was going on behind her....  
  
******  
  
Out of the rubble of what was once a dining table, emerged Cameron Hodge. He was half concussed, his glasses were broken, causing his vision to be even more blurred, and he barely had the strength to stand. The only thing on his mind now was finishing off Emma Frost, he wanted vengeance! He stumbled out of the rubble, pulling out his gun with the single bullet, and attempted to look around, trying to spot his target. Unfortunately, everything was almost one giant blur. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he spotted a feminine shape.  
  
"Now... I .... got you...you witch..." He slurred out as he readied his gun, madness in his eyes. "Now ... let's see how.... smug you are..."  
  
He held up the pistol and took aim.....  
  
******  
  
Doug Ramsey, the mutant codenamed Cypher, was a smart boy. Once the fighting had started, he knew that he wouldn't be of much use to his teammates, if any, due to the non physical nature of mutant powers, the ability to read, speak and translate any and all languages. So he did what he thought was the most reasonable thing he could think of at the time. He hid behind an overturned table, and carefully watched the battle as it was fought. He saw the Hellion Tarot summon up a demon from her tarot deck to defeat her enemies, and her teammate Empath manipulate the emotions of those who tried to attack him, and he saw a girl whom he had overheard was named Skids, seemingly push her opponents away with some sort of force field. Now though, he saw some man stumble out of the shattered remains of table that he had fallen into and pull out a gun. Not like the energy rifles that he had seen the soldiers use, this he could tell, was an actual gun, and it was aimed at Rahne Sinclair, a girl he cared deeply for.  
  
"Oh no, he's got a gun," he said to himself, realizing the severity of the situation. "Rahne doesn't see him, and she doesn't have enough time to react and get out of the way if I try and warn her...."  
  
He knew what he had to do. He quickly bolted from his hiding space, running as fast as he could towards Wolfsbane, and once he was close enough, he jumped, with all the strength he could possibly muster, to knock her out of the way.  
  
"Rahne! Watch out!"  
  
Bang.  
  
******  
  
Wolfsbane didn't know what hit her. One minute, she was on top of one of the attacking soldiers, tearing into the armor with her razor sharp claws while attempting to tear his energy rifle away, the next minute, she was on the ground after taking a sudden hit from behind. It didn't take long for her to recover however, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw her teammate Cypher, apparently kneeling on the ground, and quickly dismissed it as she leapt back towards her fallen opponent.  
  
"Doug! Get back! I can handle him alone! He's still armed and dangerous and ye have no fighting powers!" she chastised him, not looking at him as she was busy with her opponent, " I know ye meant well, but whatever did ye think yuir we doing?!"  
  
In her anger and being caught up in the fight though, she didn't notice that Cypher was only barely kneeling, she didn't see him start to slump down onto the floor, and she didn't hear his whispered words.  
  
"Don't ...be mad... Rahne... I ... I'll never...do it....again......"  
  
******  
  
Elsewhere, The White Queen slowly walked up to the barely conscious Cameron Hodge. She hadn't witnessed his latest act, but that didn't matter. She was angry.  
  
"My, my, Cameron dear, you have made quite the mess of my party, haven't you?" she said icily.  
  
Hodge, thinking that he had already killed her, turned around and panicked. "No! I...I shot you! You're dead!" He screeched out.  
  
Emma just rolled her eyes. "Of course, Cameron dear," she said dryly, " but now I'm going to have to make sure you never mess with me again." She then frowned, her eyes aglow, as she used her mutant telepathy skills to reach into his mind, and one by one, shut his psyche down, slowly reducing him to a babbling vegetable. He slumped down to the floor immediately, crawling himself up into a ball. Emma gave him a slight kick with the heel of one her boots. "Never be a rude guest again, Cameron. And next time, be a dear, call ahead and RSVP."  
  
******  
  
It didn't take long for combined team of the X-Men, the New Mutants, the Brotherhood, and the Hellions, plus Magik's Limbo demons to defeat the attacking forces, and soon what was left of the attack force was finished, with only a few of them having had the chance to escape.  
  
Now finished, Rahne shifted back into her human form, not having to worry about nudity, since she had worn her uniform under her dress as a safety precaution, the only team member to do so. She looked around for her teammate Doug Ramsey, wanting to apologize for yelling at him earlier.  
  
The Brotherhood member Sally Blevins found him first. "Oh my God!" she screamed out, causing fellow member Rusty Collins to rush to her side with worry.  
  
Curious, Rahne jogged over, and saw Doug lying on the floor.  
  
"Doug?" she asked.  
  
No response.  
  
"Doug,....stop it! Come on, get up, stop teasing us..." She said, worry starting to creep into her voice.  
  
Then she saw the blood.  
  
"Nooooo!"  
  
End of chapter eleven.  
  
Author's Notes: Well, quite the cliffhanger, huh? I didn't actually intend for Doug's sacrifice to coincide so closely with anniversary of the tragic events of 9/11, but it did, thanks to delays of school and writer's block. This is pretty much a penultimate chapter, the longest I've written, and the most dramatic, with it's ending. Ironically enough, I've always disliked the basic story of how Doug died in the regular comics universe, but I decided to put him in the same situation here, sacrificing himself for the love of his life, Rahne Sinclair.  
  
Will his fate be the same here as well? In all honesty, all though I know what I am going to do now, at first I wasn't sure. Briefly, I considered a reader poll, but now I know what I am going to do. You'll have to wait until the next chapter though, because there is where Doug's final fate will be revealed.  
  
Also, because I wanted this to be a large, special chapter, I included the X-Men, and the ever popular Brotherhood as guest stars to make this a real special chapter. Will we being seeing either team again (along with Brotherhood's two new members)? Time will tell, although the next three chapters are already planned out, and I'll share some previews for those at the end of the next chapter. Also, for the curious, Kitty's line abut Lance saving her from a mascot is a reference to a cut scene from the episode "Growing Pains", and that, oddly enough, was shown everywhere but in America. As for the Hellions, they are reslly, the recurring villian team of the story, so of course we'll see them again, complete with a new member, Firestar (she was the girl talking with Magik, the codename-less Rusty, and Skids earlier in the story), so keep an eye out for them!  
  
Major inspiration for this chapter is New Mutants # 53, for most of the ballroom scenes, and New Mutants # 60, for the ending with Doug and Rahne. You can find both issues at comic shops, and # 60 can be found as part of the X-Men: The Fall of the Mutants tradepaperback, again, easily found in most comic book shops or book stores.  
  
Remember, C&C (comments and criticisms) are always appreciated! Take care!  
  
Next chapter: As Doug Ramsey clings to life, each member of the New Mutants thinks about what it takes to truly be a "Hero". Will the team suffer their first casualty? Or will Cypher pull through and recover? Find out next time, in "Paint it Black!" 


	12. Paint it Black

The New Mutants By: Joey Disclaimer: Sorry, I don't own these characters, Marvel Comics and I believe KidsWB! (or at least they do for the Evo version) does, and I'm only using the characters for entertainment only, no harm meant.  
  
will be used for Doug/Cypher's language translations and regular language translations as well.  
  
Chapter 12 "Paint it Black"  
  
Previously: Returning back to the Xavier Institute in Bayville from their mission on Muir Island, the teams of the New Mutants and the X-Men found a mysterious tape waiting for them, which contained a message from Emma Frost, the White Queen! She invited both teams to the Hellfire Club ball, which was accepted, although they didn't know it at the time, the Brotherhood had also been invited! Despite the obvious differences between them, the four groups, the New Mutants, the Hellions, the X-Men, and the Brotherhood all managed to not fight and peacefully interact, however the anti-mutant group Humanity's Last Stand, led a man named Cameron Hodge, who had a personal vendetta against the White Queen, crashed the party. Although in the end, the groups managed to defeat the invaders, the victory was costly, as Doug Ramsey was shot during the battle!  
  
*****  
  
Our lady of Blessed Hope Hospital, Boston Massachusetts  
  
It hadn't taken long for Xavier to call 911, and Doug was taken to the hospital almost immediately, and rushed into surgery to remove the bullet wound, explaining that he had been caught in the crossfire from the attack, which was already being reported on local news stations, and he had even been kind enough to pay for the hospital bill, now Doug's life was in the doctor's hands, with thoughts and prayers for him deep in the minds and hearts for those who knew him.  
  
******  
  
Illyana:  
  
Illyana Rasputin was afraid.  
  
It seemed that as of late, she was losing things. Her brother, as he left for America to find his fate in the world, her innocence, as she became protector of a demon realm, and now, she might losing a friend, as Doug Ramsey was now in surgery to stabilize his bleeding and remove the bullet inside of him.  
  
It hurt too. Doug had been the first of her new friends, the mutant team unofficially called "The New mutants" to befriend her, his mutant gift for languages helping her overcome the language barrier between herself and the others. He was a friend to her, in the beginning, as he taught her English, she even had a small crush on him, although that faded as time went on. Now he was a dear friend, and he might not even make it through the night.  
  
She continued sitting in an empty bench in a hallway, lost in her thoughts and prayers, oblivious to those around her, which was how she was caught off guard when a hand touched her shoulder, causing her to jump slightly in surprise. Startled, she looked up to see one of the people that her teammates knew, an X-Man.  
  
*What is her name again?* Illyana thought briefly. *Oh yes, Kitty Pryde.*  
  
"So, like, how are you holding up?" Kitty asked the girl as she sat down next to her. "I know this must be pretty difficult for you right now, but don't worry, I'm sure he'll be ok."  
  
"Thank you," Illyana replied, " I'm doing my best not to cry right now...this is just so unexpected, none of us ever thought something like this might happen."  
  
Kitty nodded in agreement, "Yeah, I'm part of what you might call the senior team, and although we're young, we've been through so much together...but even we never thought of something like this happening," she said, "that's why we're here, to show support, we only just met most of you a few days ago, but we're just as worried about Doug as you are."  
  
She then paused for a second, before adding "Could you...tell me about him? What is he like?"  
  
"Doug?" Illyana said, " He...he was nice boy. He helped me learn English you know, with his power. Sometimes I wondered why he was with the team though, his powers being languages. I mean, I know Dani's is a mental power too, but her power is still offensive. But Doug still went out into a fight...he really was braver than we've ever given him credit for, you know? And now...that bravery may cause him his life....but I can't think of it like that. I know he'll make it out ok, that tomorrow he'll be with us, sitting in the van and tinkering with that computer of his, and everything will be ok."  
  
Kitty just listened and nodded. "So he liked computers?" she asked, when Illyana paused.  
  
"Yes, he did. It might have been an aspect of his powers, but he was incredible with his computer. He actually made a...what's the word.. a thinking program, that can talk and think of it's own will. He called it Warlock." Illyana said, "I wonder what that funny little program would say now?"  
  
"He sounds like a real great guy." Kitty added in, once Illyana finally finished.  
  
Illyana nodded in agreement. "Yes, he really is," she said, "if any of us could be called heroes...I think Doug would be the most obvious choice."  
  
The blonde girl then stood up, before turning back to Kitty, "I'll be right back." she said, looking around carefully before teleporting into limbo. A minute later she reemerged from one of her glowing circles that signified her teleports, a small purple dragon in her arms.  
  
Upon seeing Kitty's perplexed look, she replied, " I want you to have him. I've been taking care of him myself, but I'm giving him to you." she said.  
  
"Well, he's cute...but why?" Kitty said, still confused.  
  
"Well, I want you to remember this conversation, you helped me sort my feelings, and maybe a first step into friendship." Illyana replied, holding the dragon out.  
  
Kitty accepted the little dragon, who looked up and yawned, before cooing. "Thank you...this means a lot," she said. "I think.... I think I'll call him Lockheed."  
  
Illyana smiled. "Great." she said, now, let's go back to the others, they may have news on Doug's condition.  
  
With that, the two girls and dragon walked off down the hallway.  
  
*****  
  
Roberto and Amara:  
  
Whether it be by coincidence, or deliberate design by the others, Roberto and Amara had been left together, the two still nursing harsh words they had shared at the party.  
  
Roberto was the first one to finally speak. "So.... you hear any news on Doug yet?" he asked the Latin girl.  
  
Amara shook her head, her dark hair moving about as she did so. "No, nothing yet. He's still in surgery." she replied.  
  
Silence came in again, before the both of them spoke simultaneously. "Look, I .." "No, you go first...." They paused again, before Amara broke the silence.  
  
"Roberto, about what happened...I'm sorry, I lost my temper. Instead of trying to take things normally, I blew up on you." she said.  
  
Roberto meanwhile, was looking down on the floor. He finally cleared his throat and replied, "Look, it's not entirely you're fault. I shouldn't have been acting like a pig. I care about you, and.... maybe I was scared I would screw it up somehow, deep in my mind, so I tried to break it before things got serious."  
  
"But why Roberto?" Amara asked, "Why would you be afraid?"  
  
"I don't know." Roberto said, throwing up his hands, "Maybe it's because I've never gotten into something this serious before, maybe I was afraid you'd want a guy like Doug or something."  
  
Amara looked puzzled. "Doug? What are you talking about?" she said, "I'm not attracted to Doug."  
  
Roberto sighed, "Yeah, I know that...but I mean, he doesn't show off, he's polite, and...Look at what he did tonight, he took a bullet for Rahne, A BULLET! He might die and.... and..." he paused mid sentence.  
  
"and?" Amara said, trying to think of where he might be going with his rant.  
  
"and I'm not sure if I could do the same thing..." Roberto finally said, "For all my strength, and bravado...I can't help but think...can I really do what Doug did? Am I really that brave.. or am I just a coward deep down?"  
  
"Roberto...." Amara said, hugging the boy, "You're not a coward, don't ever think that. You don't need to take a bullet to prove what you are, you'll always be special to me, remember that."  
  
Slowly, Roberto returned the hug. "Amara...." he said, "Thank you."  
  
the two of them stayed in each others arms for a long time afterward, drawing the support the needed from each other.  
  
*****  
  
James:  
  
Meanwhile, James Proudstar was off in another part of the hospital. The Maternity Ward. He looked out through the glass, at the new, shining lives before him, starting their new, grand journey.  
  
"Weird," he muttered, "a friend of mine is getting a bullet pulled from his body, and I'm here looking at babies."  
  
He gave a sigh, his forearm on glass, his forehead resting on the arm.  
  
"The waiting...it's the hardest part." he whispered to himself, no one else around to listen to him but the babies, who were separated from him by the glass.  
  
He thought back, to his younger years. His older brother John had joined the army, wanting to serve his country. He was big and he was strong, not even counting his mutant power, which James, by a quirk, also developed. Super strength, enchanced durability, speed, and senses. They were both powerhouses.  
  
One day, John and his team had been called in overseas, due to an international incident. James couldn't even remember what it had been about now, but he remembered, a few weeks later, when the news came. John was MIA, missing in action.  
  
His mother had broken down on the spot. While James had ran out of the house, venting his frustration on a boulder on the other side of the Arizona reservation that had lived on. That had been the first manifestation of his powers.  
  
Time passed on. The days felt like weeks, and the weeks felt like months, and no news had passed.... until finally, they got a phone call.  
  
John had been found. A little roughed up, but otherwise unhurt, and alive.  
  
His older brother came back home shortly afterward, their mother fussing over him nonstop, their Father beside himself with joy. And to young James, it had only cemented how he had already felt about his big brother. He was a hero.  
  
It wasn't long afterward, that John settled down with a nice girl named Talia Josephine, or T.J, as she liked to be called, and James had been contacted by school teacher all way in Boston about attending her school, it was Emma Frost.  
  
"The rest...is history." he muttered, as his mind came back to the here and now.  
  
His thoughts went back to Doug, last he'd heard, the boy was still being operated on. Like John, Doug was really a hero.  
  
"C'mon kid, you can pull through." James whispered, "You don't have my muscles, or fancy powers like most of us...but you're strong.... you can do it."  
  
Before he could think further, he heard a voice call out his name.  
  
He turned around, to see two of those X-people. A girl with long, red-hair, and a boy with dark red sunglasses. *Scott and Jean..right?* he thought to himself, before walking over.  
  
"What's up?" he asked them, as they met halfway down the hall.  
  
"Took us awhile to find you," Scott replied, "we got some news on Doug."  
  
James's eyes widened. "What? Really?" he asked, hope in his voice.  
  
Silently, he said an old Apache prayer his grandmother had taught him, and followed them both back to the others.  
  
*****  
  
Interlude:  
  
The assembled group was waiting just outside the emergency room, the lead surgeon trying to quiet down the crowd. She was in her mid twenties, and was Puerto Rican. As she did so, she took in the crowd, it was large, and people varied, looking like they were from all over the globe, one of them even holding what looked to be a rather realistic looking toy dragon.  
  
"Excuse me, if I can have everyone's attention? Thanks," she said, "now that I have your attention, I want you to give you an update on the boy's condition. My name is Cecelia Reyes, I was the lead surgeon. Now, we managed to remove the bullet without too much trouble, that's the good news, however his body still went through a tremendous shock, and lost a significant amount of blood."  
  
She let that sink in with the others before continuing. "Now, that doesn't mean he's going to die, however the next few hours are going to be critical. If he's strong enough, he should be able to recover to full strength, although he should still not do anything strenuous for a while, plus he'll be needing a new suit," she said, "however, it's still possible that he just lost too much blood, and if that's the case, then we'd done all we could."  
  
She then started to take off the operating gloves she was using, saying, "Now, he's in room D5, in the West wing, if you'll excuse me, I'm needed elsewhere."  
  
With that, she walked off, leaving the group to dissipate and visit Doug. However one of them, walked off in the opposite direction.  
  
Logan continued walking until he reached a staircase, leading to the other floors. He gave a quick look around, to make no one had followed him, before walking.  
  
Inside waiting for him was a woman. Her features obscured by a trenchcoat and fedora.  
  
"You called?" she asked, once the door was shut.  
  
Logan nodded, "Yeah, " he replied, "listen, I know you're not too keen on playing baby-sitter, but I need to call in a favor you owe me."  
  
The woman crossed her arms. "A favor? Well, all right, what is it?" she said.  
  
"We got a bunch of kids out on their own now. One of them just got shot," he said, "but that's not the point. I want you to follow them, keep tabs on 'em, make sure they don't get hurt."  
  
"Isn't that sort of going against letting them do their own thing?" the woman replied, "Sounds kind of strange coming from you, Logan, not agreeing to their wishes."  
  
"Yeah, well, I don't want to see a repeat of what happened, you got me?" he said, "So will you take the job? I'll have the files on them for you tomorrow."  
  
The woman paused at that, considering the offer. Finally, she nodded her head. "Ok Logan, since we're old friends, I'll do it. But now you owe me, all right?"  
  
End interlude.  
  
*****  
  
Sam and Dani:  
  
Almost everyone else had gone in to see Doug before them, now it was Sam and Dani's turn to visit the boy. His pulse was low, but he was breathing at the least.  
  
As defacto co-leaders of the team, most of the burden over what happened was on their shoulders, Sam's especially so.  
  
"You doing ok Sam?" Dani asked, "You've been quiet ever since we walked in..."  
  
Sam let out a sigh, "Sorry, Ah guess Ah'm just tired. And worried," he said, "an' Ah blame mahself for this."  
  
"What do you mean Sam? Doug acted of his own will when he took that bullet for Rahne, you know that." Dani said, "There's no reason to blame yourself."  
  
Sam shook his head in response, saying, "Yeah, Ah know that, but it's something else."  
  
"Well, then what it is then Sam? Tell me." she replied, putting a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"It's just...it was mah idea to break off from the main group, an' the others followed me on mah call." he said, "Later on Doug and James signed up after we fought the Hellions, an' later you an' Illyana joined.."  
  
Dani was still confused at his words. "I don't get what you're saying Sam..." she asked.  
  
"It's simple, Doug is where he is now BECAUSE Ah wanted to go out away from Xavier, because Ah felt we could do more good going out and helping others rather than just reacting all the time.... if Ah hadn't wanted to, Doug wouldn't be fighting to survive right now." Sam said, "Ah've been leading the team...an' now Ah'm wondering if it was such a good idea in the first place."  
  
Dani then grabbed the boy by both his shoulders and looked him in the eye, " Sam, listen to me, this is not our fault. There was nothing you could do," she said, "and the idea is a good one. If it hadn't been for you, there's a good chance Doug and James might be under the sway of that White Queen lady, Illyana would either be dead or enslaved because of that demon lord Belasco, and the Demon Bear might have murdered me."  
  
She then let him go, "Trust me Sam, we don't blame you, and neither does Doug. Even if he dies, he wouldn't blame you."  
  
Sam looked down at the floor, still not entirely convinced. "Are you sure about that Dani?"  
  
Dani nodded her head, "Yes I am Sam," she said, "just as I'm sure that if he were to die, Doug would go up in the hallowed halls of Valhalla."  
  
Sam looked up, confused. "Valhalla?" he asked, not sure what she meant by that.  
  
Dani smiled sheepishly, "I'm a bit of a fan of Norse Mythology, you see. Valhalla is the home of honorable and mighty warriors who die in battle, handpicked by the Valkryies to stay with Odin, the chief God." she explained  
  
Sam nodded and smiled, "Ah understand now," he said, "just kind of brings an odd image to mah mind, Valkryie Dani. Riding a winged horse up there in Valhalla."  
  
Dani gave a small laugh, "Maybe I'd call it Brightwind..." she said, the image now in her head as well.  
  
There were a few moments of silence between the two, before Sam finally spoke up.  
  
"Dani?" he asked, "Ah want thank you, those things you said? Ah needed to hear that."  
  
Dani nodded her head and said, "Your welcome Sam, anytime."  
  
The two then held hands, as they kept a vigil over Doug.  
  
*****  
  
Rahne:  
  
Rahne Sinclair, the mutant codenamed Wolfsbane, due to her powers of lycanthropy, was the final person to come in and see Doug. She had been in crying hysterics for most of the night, blaming herself over what happened, and agonizing over the fact that what possibly be her last words to him were so harsh.  
  
She had somehow managed to compose herself well enough to gather the strength to finally see the boy, but when she finally entered and saw him lying there, it took all her strength not to break down and cry.  
  
She approached the bed, and stroked some stray hair out of the boy's eyes. "Doug? I dinnae know if ye can hear me...but I wanted to say I'm sorry for yelling at ye." she said, "everybody is outside, hoping an' praying for ye. Even that evil woman, the White Queen had called and expressed her condolences over what happened, an' the leader of the Brotherhood, his name is Lance Alvers, came by to check on ye."  
  
Her memory of that drew a small smile to her lips, as the older boy hadn't gotten along very well at all with Kitty Pryde's new pet dragon. It was a rather comical scene, with the two glaring at each other and shooting dirty looks at one another when Kitty wasn't looking.  
  
Her mind shifted away from that though, and she reached over and gave Doug's hand a squeeze.  
  
"Please Doug," she said, "fight on, come back to me, an' to us. I know ye can...I-we....we don't want to lose ye."  
  
She couldn't help it anymore, the tears overcame her then, and she broke down, her head on the boy's chest as she cried her heart out, the grief coming back with a vengeance.  
  
She was so distracted, her emotions so drained, she didn't notice the hand on her shoulder, supporting her, trying to soothe her.  
  
Not until she heard the voice.  
  
"Rahne...come on...it's all right...."  
  
She shot up like spark, tears still rolling down her cheek as she looked right into the eyes of an awake Doug Ramsey.  
  
"Doug!" she practically yelled out, grabbing him and holding him tight.  
  
The boy groaned lightly from the pressure, his body still weak. "Easy there Rahne," he said, "good to see you too..."  
  
Then, part of the large group of mutants surged in, having heard Rahne's yell.  
  
Doug looked up, angling his head around Rahne. "Hey guys.." he said, "I miss anything important?" he tried to joke.  
  
He couldn't say anything else however, as Rahne suddenly kissed him, catching him totally off-guard.  
  
By now everyone else had managed to cram themselves inside the room, cheers and words of encouragement ringing out as they saw Doug alive.  
  
End Chapter Twelve  
  
Author's notes: Well, that certainly took awhile. Sorry about that. The vicious combo of writer's block and school struck again. At any rate, Yes, I decided to have Doug live. He was just too nice to kill off, and I enjoy writing him. Now though, we'll be saying good-bye to the X-Men, as it's back to our core cast of characters, and yes, that mysterious woman WILL be popping up again. Go ahead and guess as to who she is if you like. I couldn't help but bring in Lockheed in, as well as bring in the Shadowcat/Magik friendship from the comics (and for you fans of Pryde and Wisdom, I did base Lance and Lockheed's little interactions from the little fights that the purple dragon and Pete Wisdom used to have). I also put in a few other comic references in this chapter, I hope you liked them! Looking ahead, we'll have a big of a lighter chapter ahead of us, to offset the drama of this one, and after that, it's the biggest challenge the team has faced yet, because Magneto and his team are coming! As always, C&C is greatly appreciated, and I'd like to thank my pre-reader CraneESD.  
  
Next Chapter: Trying to take a break from all the action of mutant life, the team takes in a rock concert, but when the star is Intergalactic Rock star Lila Cheney, there's going to be some musical mayhem in this cosmic Cannonball caper! Look out for "Steal this planet!", a rock fable! 


	13. Steal This Planet!

The New Mutants By: Joey Disclaimer: Sorry, I don't own these characters, Marvel Comics and I believe KidsWB! (or at least they do for the Evo version) does, and I'm only using the characters for entertainment only, no harm meant.  
  
will be used for Doug/Cypher's language translations and regular language translations as well.  
  
Chapter 13 "Steal this Planet!"  
  
Previously: In the aftermath of the battle with anti-Mutant group Humanity's Last Stand, Doug Ramsey was shot and taken to the hospital, where he was operated on by Doctors in order to save his life, leaving his friends to wait, hope, and pray. Some, like James, mused on their past, others made friends, like Illyana, who befriended Kitty Pryde and gave her a pet dragon from Limbo, who was then named Lockheed. Meanwhile, Wolverine met with a mysterious woman about keeping tabs on the team. Eventually, Doug woke up alive, much to the joy of his friends and teammates.  
  
*****  
  
Two days after his operation, Doug was cleared to leave the hospital, and was wheeled outside in a wheelchair by a nurse, as he was still slightly woozy. It didn't take long for him to be loaded into the van that served as the group's all-purpose car (and when a motel wasn't nearby, a make-shift home).  
  
"He should be fine now, just make sure he doesn't do anything horribly strenuous for the next day or so, so that the stitches can heal properly." The nurse said once things were completed.  
  
"No problem Ms. Ghazikhanian, we'll keep him out of trouble." Sam replied as he opened the side door to the passenger's seat in the front of the van, the others already following suit and getting into the van.  
  
The nurse nodded her head appreciatively, "Good, I'd hate to see the boy I watched over all this time to get sent back here because he and his friends didn't follow the right advice." she said, "and please, call me Annie."  
  
"Right Ms.Gh- Ah mean, Annie." Sam replied, "Y'all can rest easy, Doug's in good hands, if we need anything else, we won't hesitate to call you or Doctor Reyes."  
  
With that, he waved good-bye and hopped in the van and buckled up, as James started the car and drove out of the Hospital driveway.  
  
It wasn't very long afterward that Roberto said that he had an announcement to make to everyone.  
  
"Well everyone, it took some string-pulling and a not so modest amount of cash, considering our number, but considering what we've gone through lately, I think it's more than worth it." he said to the others, who had turned to look at him (with the exception of James since he was driving), "But I have tickets for all of us, which include backstage passes, to Lila Cheney's concert tonight!"  
  
"Whoa, Lila Cheney, _the_ Lila Cheney?" Sam asked, shocked, "Ah mean, her concerts have sold-out all over the world, New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo, London, Paris, Melbourne, Ah mean, you name the city and chances our she packed the house to the rafters."  
  
Roberto just gave a shrug and smile, "Hey, there are just advantages to having being the son of a multi-billionaire, I guess." he said, "This is just one of those, and wait until we finally settle down in California, then we'll be in style. Anyway, the concert doesn't start until eight fifteen tonight, so we have a couple hours to get settled."  
  
******  
  
Later that night, the group arrives at the stadium where the concert is being held, and true to Sam's words, the crowd is enormous, the parking lot already swamped with cars. British born Lila Cheney had only just debuted two years ago, an eighteen year old phenomenon from at the start of her career, her music, which had influences in it from classic rock, blues, techno, and punk, among other styles, found a wide audience of people from all ages and walks of life with it's adaptability style, and Lila's showmanship was second to none, turning her into an overnight smash, yet her take no prisoners attitude and refusal to give up her roots (she would often times just pop in at random clubs throughout the world and play small sets) kept her fans loyal to her.  
  
"Wow, this is incredible, the line stretches all around the stadium, it will take at least an hour before we even reach the front entrance!" Illyana exclaimed as they approached the line.  
  
"No we won't Illyana," Roberto said with a rogue-ish grin, "Just follow me."  
  
The others did so, following Roberto to the front of the line, where he showed the security officer the tickets, who immediately let them in.  
  
"See?" he said once they were all in, "Not a problem. It just happens that the ticket promoter owes my family a little favor, so I cashed in when I bought the tickets."  
  
Amara smiled. "Well this certainly is exciting. I mean, this definitely beats the old gladiatorial games back home in Nova Roma. Much less bloody for one thing." she said, linking her arm with Roberto's.  
  
The groups continued their walk inside, where they found their seats with ease, just as the band, (minus Lila) was finishing it's sound check.  
  
"This should be great." Doug said, "Good seats, backstage passes, the works!"  
  
Roberto just gave a nonchalant shrug, "Well naturally, and you'll finally get to listen to some English music, instead of Japanese stuff you always play on your CD player." he said.  
  
"Hey, it's not like I have any trouble understanding it anyway, thanks to my powers, " Doug replied, "and besides, 'Priss and the Reploids' toured with Lila on her last tour of Asia."  
  
Before the argument could escalate any further, Rahne stepped in,  
  
"Oh hush, the both of ye, although I'm rather partial to 'Go West' myself, the show's about to start." She said, pointing to the stadium doors opening as the rest of the concertgoers entered and the lights began to dim.  
  
Soon, amid flashing lights and a crescendo of music, Lila made her grand entrance, her black hair crashing around her face as she walked on stage with a purpose to her stride, her red guitar slung around her back via her right shoulder with she soon unholstered as she approached the microphone, ready to start her first set as the crowd went wild!  
  
******  
  
The concert went on for two hours of pure hard rock, the crowd loving every minute of it, Lila already having gone through two encore's before finally launching into her final song. Meanwhile, the New Mutants had decided to catch the last part of the performance back stage, so that they could meet Lila herself afterwards. However, with all the vibrations from the concert, one of the smaller speaker towers (three separate speakers chained in top of one each) was beginning to come loose. Doug was the first one to notice that the tower was beginning to look more than a little wobbly.  
  
"I don't like the look of that tower guys," he said, pointing towards it, just as the chain snapped. "Oh great! The chain snapped!"  
  
Illyana nodded her head in agreement, "It's going to collapse on stage, someone might get hurt, and the music is so loud nobody has notice!"  
  
Immediately, the team sprang into action, Roberto and James securing the chain and trying to wrap it back around the speakers to prevent them from falling, while Doug, Rahne, Dani, and Amara ran and secured the middle speaker, meanwhile, Sam notice that the top speaker was still going to fall.  
  
*If Ah can cut mah power just as Ah get to the edge of the shadows that make it to the stage, Ah can make it look like Ah wasn't fly-wait a minute, how'd it get to bright?* Sam thought as he blasted towards Lila, hoping he could shove her out of the speaker's path.  
  
Just as Sam thought, things were getting brighter, as if Lila herself was emitting some bright glow. The audience themselves didn't think a thing was wrong, since the band was well known for having extravagant stage effects during it's performances.  
  
Just as the speaker finally became loose, Lila broke into one last final guitar solo, the light getting brighter and brighter until it became so bright that the audience had to shield their eyes, and as soon as the music hit it's final crashing note, the light suddenly disappeared, and with it was Lila and her band, with a speaker strangely on the floor where she had stood. The audience cheered, amazed by such an impressive display, not even realizing that a group of teenager's back stage also disappeared, having been caught in the light..  
  
******  
  
Interlude #1  
  
She couldn't believe it! One minute the kids are backstage, risking getting caught using their powers in public to save that singer, the next minute, after that bright flash, they were gone!  
  
"Unbelievable." She muttered to herself, as she adjusted her jackets collar to cover up her face. "Next time, old friend or no, Logan is not talking me into this."  
  
Then she walked off towards the arena's exit, opening the door, and hoping she could avoid the crowd. Already, the backstage staff was trying to find Lila and the band, almost as if something was unnatural with the finale. The woman ignored them though, knowing that it was already a hopeless search, having gone through the place herself. She wasn't completely worried though, from what Logan had told her, the kids were pretty resourceful.  
  
"Of course, now I have to figure out how I'm going to explain this to Logan.."  
  
End Interlude #1  
  
******  
  
A galaxy away, a most strange object is getting some unusual guests, as inside of it, a room lights up, and twelve people appear out of the light.  
  
"Home again, home again, jiggetty-jig." Lila playfully out as she stretches.  
  
"Uh, Lila, we got some stowaways," one of the band members, the bassist, said. "looks like they must have been in the area of the energy expansion and got caught up in it"  
  
Lila nodded her head in agreement. "Looks like it. I set things so that it'd just transport humans. I didn't expect this. Of course I didn't expect that speaker accident either, thankfully we jetted out of there before any trouble started but." she then trailed off and looked at Sam, "I still have to say thanks for the effort, handsome."  
  
She then leaned in and gave him a not at all lady like kiss, winking at him afterwards. Sam's only response was blushing and stammering, while the others just murmured in various states of surprise, except for Roberto who had a jealous look on his face, and Dani, who's expression on her Cheyenne features was unreadable.  
  
"Well, I'm sure you all are wondering how you got here, right? Well it's simple, I'm a mutant. A teleporter to be exact, and yes, the guys in the band know about it. Of course, I'm not just a run of the mill teleporter either, with the exception of the first time my powers activated, I can only teleport to places I've been, and I only teleport stellar distances."  
  
"STELLAR DISTANCES?!" Doug exclaimed, "you mean we're in space?!"  
  
Lila nodded, "Yes, we're in outer space. Are any of you familiar with the concept written out in Niven's 'Ringworld'? she asked.  
  
"Ah've done some reading on sci-fi, an' the basics of what you're talkin' about." Sam said, a little taken aback by what the singer was saying, "enclosing at least a hundred million miles around a sol-class star, and generating of the necessary atmospheres.shouldn't a Dyson Sphere be impossible?"  
  
Lila then gave a shrug. "Well I just found myself here the first time my powers started, and have only figured a few things by trial and error, and since there have been no problems." she said, nonchalantly.  
  
Amara crossed her arms at that, "Hmph, grave-robber mentality, don't you think?"  
  
Lila chose to ignore that comment, and continued on with the conversation.  
  
"Anyway, since you all are here, I might as well let you have the grand tour, right?" Lila said, "just follow me."  
  
She then turned back to her band mates. "You guys just kick back, I'll send us all back later."  
  
She then motioned for the New Mutants to follow her out the room. Nobody however, noticed a small panel near the floor starting to blink..  
  
******  
  
Interlude #2  
  
The concertgoers had finally dispersed, and now there were only a few people that hadn't left yet. Standing on the street corner across the street from the arena that Lila Cheney had performed at, was a man in a long coat with a brown hat resting on his white hair. Although he hadn't actually attended the concert, he had an interest in some of the attendants, specifically a group of mutant teenagers.  
  
Of course, he hadn't expected them to disappear as they did, but if there was one thing he learned from Xavier's brood, it was to expect the unexpected. They would show up again eventually, and when they did.  
  
He then began to walk away from the arena, passing by a group of teenagers. One of them lifted up his arm to check his watch.  
  
"Hey, my watch froze.."  
  
End Interlude #2  
  
******  
  
It was about two hours later aboard the Dyson Sphere, and Sam was walking along a pathway to one of the makeshift guest rooms that had been picked out for their brief stay. The tour had been interesting, though uneventful, aside from Lila constantly flirting with him, which Sam had mixed feelings about. On one hand, it was Lila Cheney, world famous (and apparently a mutant) rock star, she was beautiful, talented, and had a fortune, although money was never really a big thing for him. On the other, he'd only just met her, and really didn't know her all that well, and that was only the tip of the iceberg concerning his mixed emotions right now.  
  
*Guess Ah can always sleep it off,* Sam thought to himself, *always did think better with a clear head anyway.*  
  
He continued walking, but he stopped as he neared a room with the door slightly ajar. He could hear noises emanating from it, and slowly peeked inside. What he saw confused him. Inside was an assortment of control panels and monitors, and the middle of it all was Lila herself.  
  
"Just a few more switches to pull and buttons to press." she said aloud to herself, "Gonna be pretty amazing, even if I'm not going to through with it all the way. I mean, I've used this thing to swipe small stuff all the way to uninhabited moons, but the Earth? Well, that's something else. Of course all I'm going to do is send the energy field around it, not actually transport it. That'll be enough to prove to myself I could do it."  
  
She didn't get anymore time to talk to herself, however, as Sam immediately barged in, having heard enough.  
  
"Lila, what on earth is going on? Y'all are talking about stealing planets? Are you nuts?" He asked, trying not to fly off the handle.  
  
Lila, for her part, was trying to diffuse the situation as bests he could.  
  
"Now Sam, luv, I can explain all this, really I can. Just give me sometime," she said, motioning her hands for him to cool down, "You see- Wait...what's that noise?"  
  
The noise that Lila had been referring to was a small rumbling noise, that almost sounded like something crashing into an object, and it was steadily getting louder and louder, until the wall behind them suddenly crashed apart! Sam immediately grabbed Lila and jumped clear, making sure they were both out of harms way. Stepping out of the hole in the wall was a fairly large sized robot, silver and black in color, part of one of it's hand already starting to shift into a cannon-like appendage.  
  
"Oh, bugger." was the first thing that came out of Lila's mouth.  
  
******  
  
Little did Lila or the others know, was that when they had arrived in the sphere earlier, they had set off one of it's few remaining (not to mention working) security measures, in this case, a security robot programmed to eliminate all intruders from the sphere. For a machine that had been inactive for as long as it had been, it was in remarkably good condition, and although subtlety was not at all one of it's strong points, it more than made up for that with it's efficiency in it's job.  
  
******  
  
Thankfully, with all the noise and damage it had caused, Sam and Lila weren't alone with the robot for very long, as the rest of the team came running in to investigate what was going on. While Doug and Illyana got Lila to safety, the rest of the team engaged the robot in combat.  
  
"Sam, you want to explain what the heck is going on?!" James yelled out as he dodged a blast from the robot's cannon arm, before he and a powered up Roberto dashed in and slugged it as hard as they could, sending it flying through the wall.  
  
Even as it staggered to its feet, the robot sent loose another blast from its cannon, causing the team to scatter to avoid the attack.  
  
"Ah can't really explain it James," Sam finally said, "One minute Ah'm talking to Lila, the next minute that thing busts on in with some sort of attitude problem!"  
  
Afterwards Sam immediately blasted towards the robot, hoping that a well aimed attack could knock it out of commission, unfortunately, the robot was quicker on the draw, firing a powerful shot of energy at Sam, who, while unhurt thanks to the barrier around him that his powers generated, was still sent wildly off-course, slamming into the wall in a daze.  
  
"SAM!" Dani yelled out as she saw the boy get attacked and get sent flying out of control. "Rahne! Attack the head! Keep it distracted! Amara, use your powers to melt that cannon to slag, and Roberto, use that strength of yours to tear off the other arm!"  
  
The other three mutants nodded in agreement, and went to work, Rahne, in her transitional werewolf form, leaping and clawing at the machine's head, while Amara 'flamed up' and sent out a steady stream of flames from her hands, turning the robots cannon-arm to a melted hunk of metal in only a few seconds. Roberto followed all this up by rushing in and grabbing the robot's other arm, yanking at it and splitting it like a leg from a cooked chicken.  
  
Despite that impressive effort from the mutants however, it soon became apparent that the robot was already attempting to initiate self-repairs.  
  
Now recovered from the earlier attack, Sam ran up to the others. "James, y'all remember what we tried against the Demon Bear not too long ago?" he asked the bigger Apache teen.  
  
James nodded his head. "Yeah, that 'Fastball Special'?" he said, "I remember it, but are you sure there's another maneuvering room for it?"  
  
Sam gave the other boy a daredevil smile, "Well, Ah guess we'll find out soon enough." he answered with a shrug.  
  
The 'Fastball Special' was a simple, yet very effective maneuver. James (although Roberto could also work in a pinch, if the situation needed it) simply picked up Sam, and using his enhanced strength, tossed the other boy at the target, and immediately afterward Sam would ignite his powers, blasting off at an even greater speed than normal, creating an even more powerful impact against the chosen target. The two mutants immediately went to work, James launching Sam at the still recovering robot, before Sam blasted off and flew at the robot like a missile, slamming at it at high velocity and actually plunging right through it, and veering into a turn away from the robot as it flew into a nearby row of computers and exploded on impact. This time there was no evidence of it trying to repair itself.  
  
Sam soon landed with the others, as Doug, Illyana, and Lila also rejoined the group.  
  
Turning to Lila, Sam asked, "Now, Lila, y'all want to finally explain things?"  
  
Lila gave out a sigh, "Well Sam luv, it's like this, Yes, I've stolen a few things, but I swear they were all from dictators and crime lords, I wasn't robbing innocent people, I was just pulling a Robin Hood, that's all." she said.  
  
Dane rolled her eyes, "Right, except instead of stealing from the rich and corrupt and giving to the poor, you're stealing from the rich and corrupt and giving to yourself." she said, "Although I guess there's not much we can do to detain you, there's no way to use any evidence, and with powers like yours, you can't be contained either."  
  
Lila just gave an embarrassed smile at that, "Well look, how about this, from now on, I promise to go on the straight and narrow path, no more stealing whatsoever. Heck, I'll even put those moons back, well as soon as I figure out how..." she said  
  
Roberto uncrossed his arms, saying "Well I guess we'll just have to be satisfied with that, although that doesn't explain that stupid robot."  
  
"I think I can take a guess at that," Doug said, "My best guess is that it was probably some old security measure, meant to defend this place from intruders. Although I guess whoever made it wasn't expecting anything like us."  
  
Before anyone else could speak however, alarm klaxons suddenly started going off, alerting everyone to another problem.  
  
"Oh great, now what?" Illyana asked aloud, exasperated.  
  
Lila quickly ran to the still working computers, using what she knew of them to try a search.  
  
"Well, from what I can gather, it looks like the computers that were destroyed by the destruction of the tin man were tied to the engine room, and so all the energy is getting stored up isn't getting released anywhere!" she said, "At least my band mates don't have to go through this, I teleported them out of here earlier."  
  
"Well excuse me for being rude, but I think we ought to try and fix things before we all get blown to kingdom come." Rahne said, "How far is it to the engine room from here?"  
  
"We passed by it during the tour, it's not too far, but given the situation, I don't think we'd be able to get there and figure out what to do in enough time." Lila said grimly.  
  
"I think I may be able to solve that problem" Illyana replied, "You're not the only teleporter around. I can get us there with enough time to spare, hopefully."  
  
"Uh, 'yana, isn't that a bit of risk?" James asked, "I mean one, we're in space, so can you even access limbo from here? Number two, isn't this almost like a blind teleport?"  
  
In response, Illyana just shook her head. " No James, limbo is a realm all it's own, I can access it no matter where I am. I just can't use it to teleport back to Earth." She said, "and I know the risk, but we don't have any other choice."  
  
With that, everyone crowded around Illyana as she summoned up a stepping disc and teleported off to the engine room.  
  
******  
  
Only a few seconds later, the group re-appeared in the Dyson Sphere's engine room, which was full of machinery that helped power the entire sphere, as well as the computer terminals that run them.  
  
"Ok, we're here, I'll do what I can, but I learned my way through a lot of this by trial and error, and things still may not be enough." Lila said, as she started to walk off towards a nearby terminal, but a hand stopped her on her shoulder. It was Doug Ramsey  
  
"Look, this may be just as much of a gamble, but let me take a crack at it." He said, "My mutant powers are language translation, and if we're lucky, I should be able to understand whatever language the system is written on."  
  
Lila nodded in agreement, and Doug went to work,  
  
"This is a slow process, but I'm starting to sense the patterns, things are getting more clear, once you know what to look for the linguistic structure is pretty basic." He said, as his fingers flew across the terminal's keyboard, trying to work as quick as he could.  
  
Unfortunately, the room was starting to get brighter, and more hot, the effects of the energy in the engines overloading.  
  
"Hurry up Doug, we don't have much more time!" James yelled out, " It's hotter than a desert in here, and getting worse!"  
  
"I'm doing the best I can!" Doug yelled back, " This is the first time I've ever translated a language of another species! I think I got it, but I need a little more time to fully translate it!"  
  
"No time Doug, just do what you think is right!" Roberto yelled, falling to his knees as the heat started to overcome him, "Things can't get any worse than they are!"  
  
"I hope those don't qualify as famous last words!" Doug replied, before his eyes lit up, "Never mind! I just got a break through!"  
  
His fingers flew across the keyboard like lighting while the room itself was almost incandescent from the light, the heat almost unbearable, until Doug hit one final button, and with a whine from the machines, it was over.  
  
"The room and lights, their back to normal!" Rahne exclaimed, breathing a sigh of relief before she rushed over to Doug and gave him a hug, "Ye did it Doug!"  
  
Doug meanwhile, had the largest grin on his face. "Yeah, if I do say so myself, I am impressed." He said, beside himself with pride.  
  
"Well, I guess the very least I can do as thanks is get the whole lot of you back to Earth." Lila said, "So step right up on everyone, for the interstellar express!"  
  
******  
  
London, England  
  
In a brilliant flash of light, the group arrived in the backyard of a spacious mansion near London.  
  
"Sorry, but this isn't Boston." Lila said, "Like I mentioned earlier, with the sole exception on when my powers first manifested, I can only teleport to places I've been, in this case, my London mansion, my home away from home. But hey, at least you're back on Earth, right?"  
  
"Well I guess so, and Illyana can always just teleport us back to Boston anyway." Amara said.  
  
Lila smiled and nodded, "Exactly, so everyone, just make yourselves at home for now." She said, "Mi casa es su casa"  
  
Everyone then headed back inside, however Lila stopped Sam from following the others.  
  
"Look, Sam, I'd really like to talk with you, luv." She said, "I'm really sorry about what happened, and I have to tell you that I really think you're something special."  
  
Sam blushed at the compliment, "Look, Lila, apology accepted, but don't snow me, Ah know y'all have got the pick of the best guys on Earth, Ah'm nothing special." He said.  
  
Lila just smiled at that. "Of course you dummy." She said, "So when I tell you I'm fond of you, you'd better believe you're something special."  
  
Sam sighed, "Look, Lila, Ah'm really flattered and all, but this is all.well it's pretty fast." He said, "Ah may be stupid for pushing a girl like you away, but Ah'm not sure if Ah want something this fast."  
  
Lila's smile faded slightly at that, but only for a second. "Y'know Sam, that just makes you more endearing, and if there's something I love, it's a challenge." She said, "So if I have to take it slow and win you, that's just what I'll do."  
  
She then leaned in and gave the boy another solid kiss on the lips.  
  
"We'll keep in touch Sam, I promise."  
  
******  
  
Meanwhile, inside the mansion, the rest of the team was watching on and listening, the conversation's results yielding some interesting responses.  
  
"Unbelievable!" Roberto exclaimed, although not loud enough to be heard by those outside, "She likes Sam! She actually prefers him over me!"  
  
Roberto overly dramatic response to his own bruised ego elicited laughter from Doug and Illyana, while Amara just rolled her eyes over this latest showing of her quasi-boyfriends bravado.  
  
Rahne meanwhile, dramatically out a hand to her chest, replying "Oh ye poor wee lad, how awful."  
  
James just gave a grin and said, "Suffer shorty."  
  
Dani stayed silent however, although her eyes seemed to mix both jealousy and relief in them.  
  
Roberto of course, protested once more. "You all have turned on me too?" he asked, " By all the saints in Heaven and all the sinners in Hell, there's just no justice!"  
  
It didn't help Roberto's ego any however, when not soon afterward, Lila's newest single raced up to the top of the charts, it was a love ballad entitled 'Sam'  
  
End Chapter Thirteen.  
  
Author's Notes: Wow, talk about your unlucky number thirteen, huh? I'm really sorry about such a long delay in between chapters. School, writer's block, and a lack of inspiration all took their toll on me, although I'm now back in the saddle again. Next chapter is titled 'Ballad of Fallen Angels', by the way. Is this the last we'll see of the evolution-ized Lila Cheney? No, although I'll have to think of ways to include her. As for the mysterious woman? Her identity will be revealed soon. Major inspiration for this chapter is New Mutants annual #1, which should be available in most comic stores.  
  
Next Chapter: Magneto. 'Nuff said! 


End file.
